All of The Stars
by moonylove13
Summary: So open your eyes and see. The way our horizons meet. And all of the lights will lead. Into the night with me. And I know these scars will bleed. But both of our hearts believe. All of these stars will guide us home…
1. Friends

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hello, everyone! this is my first attempt at writing a story and I hope you like it. I read the Harry Potter books every year because... well, it's Harry Potter and don't know, I felt like writing a little of my own about the Marauders so... here it is :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :)**

 ** _But then again, if we're not friends  
Someone else might love you too  
And then again, if we're not friends  
There'd be nothing I could do, and that's why  
Friends should sleep in other beds  
And friends should kiss me like you do  
And I know that there's a limit to everything  
But my friends won't love me like you do  
No, my friends won't love me like you do  
Oh, my friends will never love me like you do  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"Remmy!"

Remus Lupin was barely able to turn around properly before he felt arms quickly wrapping around his neck. He smiled instantly and returned the hug, recognizing one of his best friends in the entire world.

"Hello Cassie" he said with a small chuckle wrapping his arms around the small girl and kissing the top of her head. "How was your summer?"

"Ugh bloody boring" she said stepping back a little but he still had his hands on her waist. "I am so glad to be back" she said with a small smile. "How was yours?"

"A bit boring too" he admitted. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"How were the- um" she started before looking around and lowering her voice. "You know?" she whispered. Remus smiled knowing what she was talking about.

"They weren't that bad Cass, honestly" he said knowing she always worried about the full moon.

"Sorry we couldn't come" she said getting a little nervous. "Father decided to have a stupid dinner with the Malfoys that night and-"

"It's alright Cassie, really" Remus said with a kind smile. The black haired witch smiled apologetically back at him.

"I missed you Remmy" she said hugging him again.

"I missed you too" he whispered placing his head on top of hers until they were interrupted by her angry brother.

"CASSIOPEIA! How many times have I told you not to run out of my sight like that?"

"I wouldn't know Sirius. How many times have I asked you to NOT call me that?!" the small girl said glaring at her twin brother. Remus tried not to laugh. He knew just how much Cassie hated her full name. Since first year she had warned every single person in school that she would hex them if they ever used it. The only ones who called her that were the teachers, sometimes. And, of course, her brother, just to get in her nerves.

"You left me with mother and Regulus, thank you very much! Mother made me carry your trunk!" Sirius complained. "Oh, hey Moony!" he said spotting his friend.

Remus laughed at the sight of two of his best friends fighting like they _always_ did.

"Hi Padfoot, I trust you had a good summer?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"You don't even want to know, mate" he said hugging his friend.

It was a known fact that Cassie and Sirius didn't have the best home life, to put it in a nice way. They came from The Noble and most ancient House of Black, one of the largest, oldest and wealthiest pure-blooded families in the wizarding world. However, unlike the rest of their family, they didn't care about the 'importance of blood purity' as their parents put it. Remus, on the other hand, was a half-blood. His father was a wizard but his mother was a muggle. Needless to say, Mr. and Mrs. Black didn't really approve their friendship with him or Cassie's muggle-born friend, Lily Evans, for that matter.

"Sirius, Cassiopeia" the three friends turned around to face the third Black sibling. Regulus. Unlike his older brother and sister, he believed in everything their parents said, although he wasn't as drastic as they were. He didn't care for muggle-borns or half-bloods but he wasn't exactly mean to them. "I've been looking for you everywhere" he said slightly annoyed.

"Well, what a coincidence Regulus, because we've been avoiding you everywhere!" Sirius answered with a small smirk. Remus knew the two brothers never got along. Sirius always said Regulus needed to stand up to his parents like they did. But Cassie was very protective of both her brothers and she was always the peace maker of the three.

"Siri" Cassie warned. Regulus simply rolled his eyes and continued.

"Mother told me to tell you that she hopes you two behave this year" he said without any emotion in his voice. "And she said that running like that is not lady-like Cassie" he added and Remus saw the girl rolling her eyes but she smiled at her little brother.

"Thanks, Reggie" she told him and he smiled back at her. In the long time Remus had met the Black siblings, he had only seen Regulus smile if it was towards his sister. "Do you have everything you need in your trunk?"

"Yes" he replied before picking up his trunk. "Lupin" he acknowledged the boy before he left them standing there and made his way to the train.

"Well, we should go and find a compartment too" Remus suggested.

"Yeah, here!" Sirius said tossing Cassie her trunk and she quickly grabbed one end as the heavy trunk landed on the floor almost bringing the girl with it in the process.

"Hey! I thought mother told you to be chivalrous!" she complained.

"Yes, and she told you to be a lady" he mocked her laughing and grabbing his trunk before he made his way to the Hogwarts Express.

"I can carry it for you" Remus offered kindly, seeing that the trunk was a bit too heavy for the girl, but Cassie shook her head.

"No, Remmy, don't be silly" she said smiling gratefully at him. "I can do it, I just wanted to tease Siri, but thanks" she said grabbing her trunk and they both made their way inside.

"Hey! Moony, Cassie! Over here!" they recognized the voice as soon as they stepped inside the train.

"James!" Cassie shouted excited as they made their way to the boy with black, messy hair and she hugged him.

"Hey, Prongs!" Remus greeted the boy at the door of the compartment where Sirius was already seated.

"Took you long enough" he said looking up at his friends. Cassie rolled her eyes and threw her trunk at him. "Oi!"

"That's what you get you lazy bum!" she said sitting next to him.

"Things never change, do they?" James asked Remus as they sat across from the twins.

"Call me crazy, but I kind of missed it" Remus said laughing a little. "So, how was your summer?"

"It was alright" James said shrugging his shoulders. "I finally found a way to get Lily to go out with me!" he said excitedly.

"You're still on that?" Sirius asked laughing at his friend. "Mate, the girl's said 'no' at least 800 times. I think she means 'no'" he stated as Remus rolled his eyes and Cassie let out a small laugh.

"Honestly Jamie, you can't possibly think she's interested! You followed her around like a sick puppy all of last year" Cassie added. "The girl hates you!"

"Well that was before I thought of my genius plan!" he argued.

"Which is?" Remus asked.

"You!" James said pointing at Cassie.

"Me?" she asked, clearly confused.

"You're friends with Lily" he commented.

"So?"

"So, you can help me out!"

"It took you all summer to come up with that?" Sirius asked, making Remus laugh.

"Shut up! Come on Cassie, please?" he asked turning to the girl, once again. "I asked Remus last year to help me out, since they were both prefects and did their rounds together-"

"Does that mean I am off the hook this year?" Remus asked him hopefully.

"No" James quickly said. "But Cassie shares a dorm with her. She can help me out even more. You can tell her how nice a guy I am and how funny and how smart and charming-"

"And how modest" she said sarcastically and Remus smiled at her, but James ignored her as he kept on saying all his good qualities, including how he was an amazing Quidditch player.

"… So, what do you say?"

"No" the girl simply said.

"What?" James asked taken aback.

"I said no" the girl repeated.

"But Cassie-"

"No" the girl said again.

"But… why not? I'm your best friend!" he said offended.

"Be that as it may" she said rolling her eyes a little. "Lily is one of my few, if not _only_ , female friends, thanks to you two idiots flirting with every single girl, dating them and then, never talking to them again!" she said glaring at James and Sirius. "I am not going to jeopardize my friendship with Lily just because you can't take a hint Potter!"

"But this is different! I love her!" James argued. The other three friends rolled their eyes once again when the door opened.

"Hey, guys!" Peter Pettigrew said walking in the compartment. "Hi Cassie" he said eyeing the girl sitting next to her brother.

"And that's my cue to leave" Cassie said standing up and walking out of the compartment.

"If you see Lily, be sure to mention my name!" James shouted getting up and out the door to see his friend walking down the hallway.

"Bite me!" she yelled without even looking back. James laughed and went back to sit down. Sirius stood up and punched Peter in his arm when he didn't move.

"Ey! Stop ogling over my sister!" he said before sitting down again.

"I wasn't ogling!" the smaller boy argued sitting down next to him.

"Things really never change, do they?" Remus asked James this time.

"Nope" James replied laughing before all four boys started talking about their summer.

* * *

"Hello, again my friends" Cassie greeted the Marauders at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, sitting between Remus and James and across from Peter and Sirius.

"Hey! You can't just sit like that! Why isn't my Lily Flower here with you?" James asked upset looking for the red-haired girl everywhere.

"She saw you here and ran away as fast and far as she could" Cassie replied and James glared at her sticking his tongue out.

"Oh that's very mature, James" she said rolling her eyes and mimicking the boy.

"And that's real lady-like, Cassie" he mocked her. She was about to reply when she got interrupted.

"Good evening! And welcome to yet, another year at Hogwarts" the Headmaster's voice was heard in the entire room.

"Shh! Pay attention" Remus warned his friends while Professor Dumbledore gave his regular speech.

"Why? We know all this stuff anyways" Sirius complained. "We're in sixth year!"

"Well there are first years that need to listen to this" Remus replied in a serious tone.

"Look at them, all scared, lined up, waiting to be sorted" James said smirking at all the first years.

"Don't be mean!" Cassie said hitting his arm. "Don't you remember what is like to be that nervous?" she said remembering how afraid she was on her first year.

She was called to the sorting hat right after her brother. When the hat yelled Gryffindor, she saw the terrified look in his eyes. But when she stepped up, she was more afraid to be placed in a house without her brother than to not be placed in Slytherin like the rest of her _entire_ family. To her happiness, the hat also yelled Gryffindor.

"I don't ever get nervous, darling" James said winking at her and she let out a laugh.

"Keep it quiet!" Remus scolded them again just before they heard a loud growl. The four boys turned their heads to an embarrassed Cassie.

"Tell that to Cassie's stomach" Sirius said trying to contain his laugh. Cassie glared at her brother before Remus noticed the blush in her cheeks as she looked down.

"Didn't you eat something in the train?" he whispered concerned.

"Uh, no I um, didn't have time" she replied with a shy smile. Remus knew that wasn't entirely true but he let it pass.

"Here" he said taking out some chocolate from his pockets.

"Remmy-"

"Don't make me use your full name" he threatened before she had a chance to protest. Cassie glared a little at him before smiling. She knew that Remus loved chocolate even more than she did so the fact that she was giving some of it to her was a big deal.

"Thanks" she said taking it and eating it. She couldn't help but feel a fuzzy feeling in her stomach when he smiled back at her but she decided that it was just her hunger and ignored it.

"Hey! No fair!" Sirius complained across from them but they ignored him.

Finally, after the speech and the sorting, it was time for the feast to commence.

"About time! Merlin's beard, I'm starving!" Sirius said filling his plate with everything in front of him as the rest did the same.

When he noticed his sister only filled half her plate, and she was just playing with her food, he frowned at her and passed some of his food to her plate. Cassie turned to face him but Sirius only gave her a look that was all she needed to turn back to her plate and start eating. Two of the other three Marauders witnessed the exchange between the twins but didn't say anything. The third one was oblivious to the whole thing.

Remus knew how they always came to this. Mrs. Black would always put Cassie down because of her conduct. Her eating habits were only one of the subjects she didn't approve of her daughter. She was always nagging her about not acting like a lady and not being more like her cousins, Andromeda, Narcissa and Bellatrix. Remus had seen the three witches at some point when they attended Hogwarts. They were all older than them. Narcissa, the youngest one, was one year ahead of them. They were all known for their remarkable beauty. They were all in Slytherin, like the rest of the Black family. Their look was always flawless, always seemed perfect to the public eye. To say that every single guy in Slytherin was head over heels for at least one of the Black sisters was an understatement. Interestingly enough, Ted Tonks, a Hufflepuff, won the heart of the middle sister, Andromeda, causing the family to disown her for marrying a muggle-born.

Cassie, on the other hand, was, not only a Gryffindor, but she was more of a free spirit. Her long black hair, that almost reached her waist, was always a little messy. Whether it was in a messy bun, a messy ponytail, a messy braid or just let down. Her uniform tie was usually undone; her shirt would rarely be tucked inside her skirt, the only times she would look 'acceptable' for her mother was whenever they had a fancy dinner to attend and her mother would _make_ her act like that. And to top it all, she was a Quidditch player, the Seeker to be exact. According to her mother, no boy would want to go out with a tomboy like her. Mrs. Black was always telling Cassie how she should be more like her three cousins. How she wasn't as smart as them, or as pretty as them, or as thin as them, or as popular as them. And she would never find someone worthy of her that way.

Remus found it disgusting, really. How could she put her own daughter down like that? And even if Cassie never admitted it, Remus knew how much it hurt her. He and James knew about the matter because Sirius had told them all about it when they were in third year. If there was someone who hated Mrs. Black's attitude towards Cassie more than Remus, or even Cassie herself, it was Sirius. He had always been very protective of his sister. He would make sure to tell her that she was beautiful no matter what. Mostly because she was his twin, but still. Whenever they were home, Mrs. Black would serve the 'appropriate' amount of food in Cassie's plate, making the girl self-conscious in the process, so Sirius would always pass some of his food to her. He was always messing her hair and asking for her help on some subjects even if he was just as good as her. Remus hated seeing her like this. She was usually very outgoing and very confident, but three months stuck in that house and some of it had to sink in. So, Sirius, James and him would always try to get her not to listen to Mrs. Black and just be the girl they all loved just as she was.

"Come on Cassie, Quidditch season is coming" James said trying to cheer her up. "We need to get protein in you!" he said making her smile just slightly. She knew what they were doing and why they did it. She was so grateful to have great friends and loved them for it.

Remus sat there for a minute just looking at his friend as she kept her conversation with James about Quidditch. Little by little, he saw how quickly she forgot the matter and went back to her old self. Her dark grey eyes started to spark a little as they remembered how they won the Quidditch Cup the past year, thanks to her. Remus smiled at having his friend back. He chuckled a little when James said something that made her laugh and spit a little of her drink. In his opinion, Mrs. Black was insane. Cassie was just as pretty as her cousins, if not more. He had always wondered how come she didn't have a boyfriend. Boys were always chasing after her, Peter being one of them, but she never really seemed interested. Not, that he would notice or anything, but he still found it rather odd. Sirius was always taking advantage of his looks with the girls. He knew Cassie could get away with it as well, but in that aspect, she was the complete opposite of her brother. He was a bit thankful for that. He was very protective of the girl and never really liked any of the guys that had tried something to her. And he could feel this year would be a little more difficult since he saw that she got more beautiful over the summer.

 _Wait! What? Beautiful? Since when do I think Cassie is beautiful!? Sure, I mean the girl is attractive and all but that's it! Right?_ Still, he had never liked the idea of her being serious with another guy, but that's just because he was looking out for her… as a friend of course.

As if someone was reading his mind, at that moment Augustus McLaggen, another one of Cassie's big fans, approached the group. "Hello Cassie" he said smiling flirty at the girl. "Black, Potter, Lupin, Pettigrew" he nodded to the boys. Remus found himself glaring at the boy a bit and had to make himself stop.

"Hello, Augustus" Cassie said politely as the boys just nodded.

"Looking forward to this year's Quidditch Cup?" he asked excitedly.

"You bet we are!" Sirius said, high-fiving James. "We're gonna win it again!"

"Yeah, we need new beaters, though, since Fabian and Gideon graduated last year" James said.

"Well, with the best Seeker in the entire school we will still win, obviously" Augustus said winking at Cassie. Remus felt a tight knot in his stomach but thought maybe it was something he ate.

"Ow, thanks, Gus, but I can't take all the credit myself" she said mocking them. "I guess the Chasers and the Keeper also had _something_ to do with it."

"Well, obviously" James said messing her hair a little. "Without me to score the points, the team would be doomed!"

"Hey! Do I need to remind you that I scored more points than you last year?" Sirius argued.

"Yeah, well, who was the one making sure the other team didn't score?" Augustus also intervened.

"Gentlemen, please" Cassie interrupted making them all look back at her. "I think we can all agree, that if I hadn't caught the Snitch, Ravenclaw would've had the Cup, so really, is all on me" she smiled happily.

"Careful Cassie, you're starting to sound like Padfoot over there" James teased her.

"I am not! I am way prettier than him, don't you think?" she said making eyes at James, who raised his eyebrows suggestively at her. Remus had to control his stomach again, apparently and stop his mouth from saying 'obviously'.

"Hey!" Sirius complained as the other two laughed.

"I think I speak for all of the boys in our school when I say that you are" Augustus suddenly said. Remus suddenly noticed his fist was clenched for some reason. He took a deep breath and let it pass.

"Aw, thanks, Gus!" Cassie replied turning to face him again and smiling up at him.

"Oh please, we could make a survey around the school and I think I'd beat you, sis… girls _and_ boys" Sirius mocked her.

"Getting a little full of ourselves, aren't we, Siri?"

"You'd have my vote" Peter suddenly said looking at Cassie and Sirius punched his arm. "Ouch!"

"Mine too" Augustus said winking at her again. "Well, guys it was nice seeing you, but I'm off" Augustus announced. "I'll see you around" he told them. "Always a pleasure" he added his eyes landing on Cassie again before walking away from the group as Remus glared a little more. He was about to say something but someone beat him to it.

" _Well, with the best Seeker in the entire school we will still win, obviously"_ James mocked Augustus' voice once he was out of sight. "That guy is a phony" he stated.

"What? I thought you liked Gus" Cassie said confused.

"I did until I saw the way he was looking at you" James said in a protective tone. Remus was relieved that he wasn't the one who had to say it, even if he was about to.

"James, I already have an annoying protective brother! I don't need another one!"

"Of course you do!" Sirius said. "You think I can fight all of the boys at school by myself? Cassie, I know I'm tough and all, but come on, sometimes I need Prongs and Moony to help me get them off your case!"

"What about me?" Peter protested with his mouth full of cake. Cassie eyed him with a disgusted face.

"You are the president of Cassie's stupid little Fan Club" Sirius said glaring at him. It was true; Peter had developed a crush in the witch since fourth year. He blushed a little at the statement and decided it was better to just keep on eating.

"I _don't_ have a Fan Club!" Cassie argued blushing just a little. James smirked widely at her.

" _I think I speak for all of the boys in our school when I say that you do"_ he said mocking Augustus' voice again. "And is not that little!"

"Knock it off!" Cassie said hitting his arm while the other three boys laughed.

"Come on Cassie, you can't tell me that you haven't noticed several guys at school, well… um, fancying you" Remus said trying not to sound so upset about it.

"They do not!" Cassie said blushing a little when she turned to Remus. "Not all of them" she muttered looking down but James heard her.

"Right, not _all_ of them, is just Augustus, and Peter, Adrian, who's always taking your photograph, Fabian and Gideon used to have their eyes on you, that Ravenclaw guy, what's his name?"

"Bertram Aubrey!" Sirius said glaring at the Ravenclaw table.

"Right! Remember when we hexed him last year for lifting up your skirt with his wand?"

"His head grew twice its original size!" Peter said laughing, remembering the incident.

"It wasn't funny" Remus intervened. Although he had gotten furious for what Bertram had done, he didn't think what James and Sirius did was right.

"Oh, please, Moony! He's lucky that was the only thing we did" Sirius said upset while Cassie just tried to sink in her seat hoping they would stop soon.

"Who else? Let's see… There are guys in Hufflepuff like Davey Gudgeon, Dirk Cresswell-"

"That's enough James" Cassie said getting upset.

"Ah! And there's Slytherin! Evan Rosier, Avery and Mulciber, Malfoy, Scabior… oh, this is fun!" James said laughing and looking at Remus who forced a laugh. _Fun_ wasn't exactly the word he would use to describe all of the boys chasing after Cassie.

"Ugh! You are so irritating! And you wonder why Lily won't go out with you!"

"Well, to answer your question, is simply because Potter is an arrogant git who hasn't changed one bit" the five friends suddenly turned to see the red-haired Prefect standing behind James. James quickly composed himself and got up to greet the girl.

"My beautiful Lily" he said gleaming at the sight of the witch. "Wow, you got even more beautiful over the summer" he commented. To what do we owe the pleasure of you joining us? Have you finally fallen for my charms?"

"No" she said rolling her eyes. "I asked Cassie that if that day ever were to come she would immediately have me sent to St. Mungo's declared with insanity" she replied. "I came over to tell Remus that we have to guide the first years to the Common Room and you guys should be heading there too" she advised.

"Wow, not even a 'hello' Evans?" Sirius mocked her. "Didn't you miss us?"

"I missed your sister, Black" Lily offered, smiling at Cassie and Sirius pretended to be hurt.

"See? I already got three votes on my survey" Cassie said smirking at Sirius.

"I missed you _too_ " James added making the girl glare at him again. _"_ Would you guide me to the Common Room? I'm afraid I might get lost without your help" James said smirking as his friends all rolled their eyes.

"I think I'd be doing everyone a favor by letting you get lost" she said in a serious tone. "Remus, shall we go?"

"Uh, yeah, sure" he said standing up. "I'll see you guys later, _please_ don't get into any trouble, at least for tonight" he begged.

"Can't make any promises mate" Sirius said. "You know trouble can't seem to stay away from us" he said as James nodded.

"Yep, that's us… handsome and dangerous" he said winking at Lily, who made a disgusted face.

"Cassie" Remus pleaded turning to his friend who wasn't as bad as the rest. She sighed, knowing she couldn't say no to him.

"Fine, we'll try" she said offering a smile.

"Cassie!" James and Sirius complained at the same time.

"Thanks" Remus said kissing her head, ignoring the two boys. "Bye guys!"

"Bye Lily!" James yelled, but she simply ignored him. "I'm going to marry that girl" he said sitting back down next to Cassie.

"And the day that happens, I'll be named Head of the Slytherin House!" Sirius mocked him as they all laughed at his hopeless romantic friend before they all headed back to the Common Room.

* * *

"Hey, what are you still doing up?" Remus asked coming down to the Common Room and finding one person sitting there, looking out the window.

"Well, I could ask you the same thing" Cassie said smiling up at him. Remus walked over and sat next to her.

"I asked first" he said with a small smile. Cassie saw he was holding something on his hand but she couldn't see what it was.

"Couldn't sleep" she said shrugging her shoulders. "What time is it?"

"Almost 2 AM" he said getting chocolate out of his pockets and giving some of it to her.

"Did you put a charm on your pockets so that they'd always be filled with chocolate?" she asked grabbing the piece and eating it. Remus laughed.

"No, I fill them myself" he answered.

"My knight in shining armor" she said playfully making Remus smile.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" he asked all of the sudden.

"I don't know" she said shrugging her shoulders, hoping he would let it go.

"Cassie" no such hope. Cassie sighed and turned to look back at the window.

She didn't want to tell him. She didn't want him to know the truth. She didn't want him to know that while James was naming out every single guy in school that apparently fancied her, she was hoping for Remus' name to pop out. But it didn't. She wasn't quite sure why she had hoped for that, but she did. She didn't want him to know that she could care less about every other guy in the school because, for the past year, she had developed feelings for the werewolf. She wasn't quite sure what they were yet. She just knew that she loved spending time with him, he was her best friend and everything seemed happier when he was around. She also didn't like it when another girl made him laugh, or got too close to him during class.

"Is just um-" she started, seeing Remus' eyes looking intently at her. She couldn't do it. She couldn't admit what she was feeling to herself, let alone to the guy in front of her. "Uh, my mother had my skirts ' _fixed_ ' again" she said smiling sadly and looking down. It had happened before that her mother would make her skirts smaller, so that she would have to fit into them. But ever since third year, Remus had helped her to charm them back to their original size.

Remus felt his heart clench. He hated when she was upset. Every time she was sad, he would make sure to make her laugh. He loved her laugh. But he couldn't say that. He couldn't let himself start to feel this way over Cassie. She was his best friend. She was a Black and Remus was… well, a monster. There is no way that she would ever see him as more than a friend. He wasn't even sure why she was his friend, but he was thankful. And he couldn't let her slip away. If that's the only way he could have her, he was glad. And he was determined to make her happy anytime he could.

"Cassie, look at me" Remus said in a very gentle tone. When the girl didn't look up, he placed his index finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking directly at him. "I don't care what your mother says, I don't care what your cousins look like and I don't care how many times do I have to say this, but I will repeat it until you believe me" he said in a serious tone. Cassie was looking at him a little confused. Remus was rarely this serious about something unless it was something very important. "You're beautiful!"

Remus froze when he realized the words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. He felt his heart stop for a little while. He couldn't believe he had just said that. He just blurted it out. _What is she going to think? Wait, why do I care about what she thinks? I'm just comforting her as a friend… there's nothing wrong with that… right?_ He felt himself calm down a little when he saw her grey eyes sparkle a little and a shy smile forming on her face.

"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked blushing just a little. No one, aside from Sirius, had told her that she was beautiful. And she was pretty sure he only said that because, well, they were twins. She knew James wasn't wrong about all the guys fancying her, and most of them tried asking her out, but they _never_ called her beautiful.

Remus felt his cheeks burning a little, but there was no going back now. "I do" he simply said with a warm smile.

Cassie reached out to him and kissed him on the cheek before she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. "Thank you" she whispered before she rested her head on his shoulder.

Remus smiled to himself, knowing what this had meant to her. He turned his head and kissed her forehead.

"You're welcome."

Cassie sat back down and turned to face him again. "So, what are you doing up?" she asked trying to get things back to normal and Remus took the hint.

"Oh, did you know that James' snores got worse over the summer?" he asked a little irritated and Cassie laughed.

"Worse? I didn't think they could get any worse!" she said feeling sorry for the boy.

"I'm surprised you didn't hear him from your dorm" he told her. "So, I came down here to read and I saw you" he finished.

"Oh" she said with her smiling falling a little. "I can leave if you want" she said a little sad. She didn't really want to stop spending time with Remus.

"Don't be silly" Remus said grabbing what hi had on his other hand and showing it to her. "This is the book I brought" he said showing it to her and seeing a wide smile appearing on her face.

It was her favorite book. It was a book that had all of her favorite muggle Fairy Tales in it. Remus had shown her this book when they were in first year, on a night much like this. Remus couldn't sleep because his roommates were snoring and he came to find the small girl in the Common Room. She couldn't sleep because she was upset. Her parents had found out both her and her brother were placed in Gryffindor and they had sent out a Howler showing their disappointment.

"So, which one do you want to read tonight?"

"Peter Pan" the girl said without even thinking.

"Again?" he said letting out a little laugh.

"Is my favorite" she replied as she got comfortable and laid her had on Remus' lap, like they always did. Both teenagers decided to ignore whatever fuzzy sensation they felt as she did so. "Along with Beauty and The Beast."

"Alright, Peter Pan it is" Remus said with a small laugh and opening the book to the page where the story began. As he stroked the girl's long black hair he began to read. " _All children, except one, grow up…_ "

* * *

 **A/N: so, there it is! :D I hope you guys liked it! let me know what you think :)**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	2. Fall

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hello again! I am back! :D and first I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story and a special thanks to imketys and an anonymous reviewer for your reviews! :D you rock! well, here's chapter 2! enjoy** **:) -** **moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of this! :(**

 ** _You and I  
Learning to speak  
With kisses on cheeks  
You and I  
We're lifted over the edge  
And I will fall for you  
And I will fall for you  
If I fall for you  
Would you fall too?  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"Cassie?"

There was no response from the girl who had her head buried in her pillow.

"Cassie!" Marlene McKinnon tried a little louder.

"Let me try" Alice Fortesue said. "CASSIE!"

"Mmm" was the only response she got from the girl.

"Well, at least she's not dead" she told Marlene.

"What's going on?" Lily Evans said coming out of the bathroom and then spotted the girl, still in her bed with her hair spread all over her pillow. "Oh, allow me ladies" she said walking over to the sleeping girl and clearing her throat. "Cassie, Remus is outside with chocolate chip pancakes and bacon-"

"What! Where?" Cassie snapped her head up and got out of bed as quickly as she could, tripping with her blankets and ending on the floor. "Ouch! That was low, Evans!" she said underneath the blankets while the other three girls laughed.

"Is the only way to get you out of bed" Lily said between laughs.

"Ugh, what time is it?" she asked standing up and trying to fix her hair a little.

"Time for breakfast!" Marlene said excitedly before she and Alice made their way out.

"There better be pancakes when I come down" Cassie said glaring at the door when the girls were out. "Well, I'm going to go get cleaned up" she announced to the remaining friend in the room. "Aren't you going down for breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting Sev. Just want to make sure I have everything I need for today's classes" she said grabbing all of her books.

"Ew, Snape" Cassie said grabbing her things before heading to the bathroom.

"Come on, Cassie, don't you think we're a bit old to continue this 'dispute' between the two of you?"

"Dispute? Is that your fancy way of saying that he hates me?" Cassie said laughing a little.

"He doesn't hate you" Lily defended him and Cassie raised an eyebrow at her. "Alright, he probably hates you but only because James and Sirius taunt him to no end! I don't think he has something against you personally" she said.

"I'd think again if I were you" Cassie told her.

"Come on, Cassie. Aren't you passed this whole childish thing? At least you could be like Remus who is decent to him, I know James and Sirius are too immature to even think about that… no offense" she said a little sorry.

"Please, none taken" she said laughing a little. "Look, I'd be the first one to call out my brother on his idiotic ways, but when it comes to Sniv- Snape" she corrected when she saw the look her friend was giving to her. "I actually think they're not that wrong about it" she admitted. "And I never understood how you're friends with him… you're so different!"

"Well, we've been friends since we were kids" Lily reminded her.

She knew all about Snape being the one telling Lily that she was a witch and that they had grown up together. But still, to her, the boy was just weird. He was always by himself or living under Lucius Malfoy's robes. She had kept an eye on him, she had never trusted him.

"Yeah, and I was friends with Lucius Malfoy when we were kids but people change" Cassie told her.

"That's different! Malfoy is a jerk" she said rolling her eyes.

"So is Snape" Cassie muttered but Lily heard her. "Look, I'm just saying that James and Siri aren't as bad as you think and Snape may not be as good as you think" she told her before getting up and making her way to the bathroom.

Lily decided to shrug it off. Maybe she was never going to be able to get the rest of her friends to get along with Severus, but their friendship meant a lot to her. She walked out of her dorm and made her way to the Great Hall. When she entered, she noticed all of the Marauders sitting with Marlene and Alice. James smirked and winked at her when he saw her. She simply rolled her eyes and made her way to find her Slytherin friend, not noticing the disappointed look on James as he turned back to his friends.

"She's not going to make it" he said smirking looking at the big clock in the Great Hall.

"You always do this, Potter" Sirius said with an even bigger smirk. "You lose faith in her and she always surprises you at the last minute" he said glancing at the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Is almost time to go to class" James told him.

"She still has time" Remus suddenly said, not taking his eyes from the book he was reading.

"Sorry Sirius, but I have to side with James on this one" Marlene intervened.

"She was still asleep when we came down and we were a bit late" Alice told them.

"Don't underestimate my sister, Marlene darling" Sirius said winking at the girl and making her giggle.

As if on cue, the door to the Great Hall opened revealing the Black sister running through it and making her way to her friends. "Morning everyone" she said with a small smile.

"No!"

"Told you" Sirius said smirking at James who was sulking in his seat as he paid ten sickles to his friend.

"You should really have a little more faith in me Jamie" she said taking a seat next to him and messing his hair.

"Here" Remus said placing a plate full of pancakes in front of her.

"Yay! Pancakes!" she said throwing herself arms around Remus and kissing his cheek.

"Cassie I need to breathe!" Remus said with a little laugh.

"Hey! How come I don't ever get a greeting like that?" Sirius complained. "I'm your brother!"

"You didn't save me pancakes" she said shrugging her shoulders as she began eating. "So, what's first today?"

"Well, _we_ have Divination" Sirius said pointing at James, Peter and himself.

" _We_ have Ancient Runes" Remus told her.

"Ugh, remind me why I agreed to take that course again?" she said taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Because you said Divination was really a waste of time and just making up the class as it goes" Sirius reminded her.

"Well, it is" she argued.

"And that's why you're stuck in Ancient Runes" James mocked her.

"Well, so nap time" Cassie said with a small laugh.

"Cassie! Ancient Runes is one of the most elemental courses in school. It's-"

"The foundation of everything in the wizarding world" James, Sirius and Cassie said at the same time as he finished. Remus glared a little at them. "We know Remmy" Cassie said with a small smile.

"Um, Cassie?" the group of teenagers turned their heads to face Regulus Black, standing behind his sister.

"Are you lost, Regulus?" Sirius asked smirking.

"Siri!" Cassie turned to warn his brother. "Can I help you Reg?"

"Uh, could I talk to you… alone?" he asked looking down. Cassie got up from her seat and followed her little brother.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" she asked a bit worried. She knew Regulus sometimes got picked on by the Slytherins for having his two siblings in Gryffindor.

"Yes, I'm fine" he said with a small smile. "I just… um needed your help" he told her.

"Oh, sure, with what?"

"I want to try out for the Quidditch Team this year" he told her.

"Really? That's great Reggie! I'm so happy for you!" she said hugging her little brother. She had known he always liked Quidditch, but he had never really wanted to try out before for some reason. "So, what do you need my help with?"

"Well, I wanted to try out for Seeker" he admitted. "So, I was wondering if you could maybe help me because… well, you're the best Seeker in school" he told her.

"Ow, Reggie" Cassie said messing his hair a little. Regulus laughed but fixed his hair. "Of course I'll help you! But don't expect me to go easy on you whenever we play against you guys" she told him and he nodded knowingly. "I have a free period tomorrow, does that work for you?"

"Yeah, that's perfect!" he said hugging her again. "Thanks, Cassie" he said smiling before walking back to the Slytherin table.

"So, what did Regulus want?" Sirius asked as soon as Cassie came back to the table.

"Oh, just some advice on the OWLs and everything. He's a bit nervous" she lied. She wasn't about to tell Sirius and James that she was going to help the new Seeker of their worst rival. Thankfully they bought it and went back to their breakfast, but she saw Remus eyeing her suspiciously.

"Come on, let's go before we're late" he said getting up and Cassie and Alice stood up and followed him.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to miss a second of it" Cassie said mocking him. Remus rolled his eyes and walked ahead of them. Alice laughed a little.

"You guys are adorable" Alice said laughing a bit looking at Remus and then back at Cassie.

"Adorable?" Cassie asked laughing.

"Oh, come on Cassie, you and Remus would make such a good couple" she told her.

"What? What are you talking about, Alice? Remus and I are just friends" Cassie said with a nervous laugh.

"I know but, well is just something I've always thought" the girl admitted. "He's really sweet with you, and, even if you don't notice, you are different towards him too."

"Different? Different, how?" Cassie asked confused. She would think she'd know if she acted differently towards him… right?

"Well, I don't know, just different than you act the way around, James, for example" she told her.

"Uh-" Cassie didn't have a chance to reply because they had caught up to Remus, who was waiting for them with someone.

"Hey girls" Frank Longbottom said joining the group. "Hi Alice" he said blushing a little bit when he saw the girl.

"Hi, Frank" the girl said with a dreamy smile. Cassie smirked a bit to herself when the tables turned.

"Oh, hello Frank" Cassie greeted the shy boy. "Um, Remmy, I uh forgot my book in the Common Room" Cassie said suddenly and Alice widened her eyes at her. "Would you accompany me to get it?"

"What? Cassie, not only were you late for breakfast, you forget your book and now you're gonna make us late for Ancient Runes! If you forgot it you go to get- ouch!"

"Why thank you, Remus, that is very nice of you. Would you guys excuse us?"

Remus glared at his friend who had elbowed him in the stomach before she dragged him away from their friends.

"Cassiopeia!"

"Ah! Take that back, Remus John Lupin!"

"Stop that!"

"You started it!"

"If you think I'm going to go all the way back with you to the Common Room you have another thing coming!"

"Oh hush up! I just said that to get away from them!" she said rolling her eyes and getting her book out of her bag. "See?"

"Get away from them? But Frank and Alice are our friends!" Remus said confused.

"Oh, my sweet little Remmy" she said laughing a little as she put her book back. She grabbed his arm and they started making their way to their class again. "I'm not trying to get away from them because I don't like them. I love Frank and Alice! I'm trying to get away from them so they could be alone and act like that" she said pointing at the couple in front of them in the hall where they noticed Frank taking Alice's bag and carrying it himself as they both blushed and walked to class.

"Ohhhh" Remus said understanding it and looking back at his friend who was smirking at the couple. "How long have you known this?"

"Know what?"

"About Frank and Alice" he told her.

"Oh, I don't know. I've always thought they would make a good couple and I've noticed the way they look at each other" she answered as they entered the class and deciding to ignore the irony of this and what they had just talked about with Alice. "I just think they're both too shy to do something about it, so maybe they need a little help" she suggested.

"You can't just assume that two people are going to fall in love like that Cassie" Remus said with a small chuckle.

"Oh, really? Then why are they sitting together?" Cassie said looking at the couple in front of the class and smirking at Remus.

"That doesn't mean anything" Remus argued.

"How would you know? Maybe it does" she said as they sat down. "Maybe I should've taken Divination" she said laughing and making Remus laugh too.

"Well, it would've been very lonely without you here" he told her smiling.

Cassie opened her mouth to respond but instead, she just smiled.

"Alright everyone, settle down" they both turned around to pay attention as the class started.

But Cassie wasn't paying attention. She was still thinking about what Alice had said. Did she really act differently around Remus? She turned to look at her friend who was taking note fully concentrated in the class. Remus would look up from his notes to look at the Professor from time to time and she felt something in her stomach at how handsome he was. _Shut up! You cannot do this! He's your friend! He's your BEST friend! He's Sirius' best friend! This is pointless!_ She shook her head to get those thoughts out of her head and tried to concentrate on the class.

After a very long _and boring_ class, according to Cassie, it was time Defense Against the Dark Arts. They met with James and Peter in the middle of the hall.

"Give it a rest, Cassie" Remus told her.

"They're holding hands! And he's carrying her books!" Cassie told Remus as they watched Frank and Alice ahead of them.

"What are you guys talking about?" James asked.

"Frank and Alice" Cassie told them.

"Cassie! There you are my sweet little sister" Sirius came running towards his sister. "Have I told you how stunning you look today?"

"What do you want?" Cassie asked him.

"What? I am offended that you would think-" Sirius started but the other four looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Alright, I need a favor" he admitted. "There's this girl that happens to be in your Ancient Runes class-"

"No" Cassie said rolling her eyes and continuing her way to the class with the rest of them following her.

"What? No? But I'm your brother!" Sirius said walking up to her. "I would do the same for you!"

"No, you wouldn't!" she said without even looking at him. "And even if you would, the difference is that I would actually take the guy seriously if I were ever to date him" she told him.

"Well, maybe I really like this girl!" Sirius defended himself.

"Yeah, and maybe, I really like Severus Snape!" she told him.

"Ok, that's not even funny as a joke, that's just disgusting" James said interrupting the twins.

"Come on, just at least find out her name for me?" Sirius asked doing his big puppy eyes at her and Cassie sighed in defeat.

"Ugh, fine, if it'll get you to shut up" she told him. Sirius hugged her tightly and carried her, spinning her around.

"Yes! You're the best sis!" he told her as he put her down. "Hey, look! Longbottom's got himself a girl" Sirius said smirking at the couple in front of them.

"They're not in a relationship" Remus argued.

"I think someone is upset about being wrong" Cassie said in a little song.

"I am not!" Remus argued as they reached their class and sat down close to Marlene and Lily.

"What is Remus pouting about?" Lily asked.

"I am not pouting!" Remus pouted childishly.

"Yes, you are" Cassie said smiling. "And he's pouting because he's upset he's wrong about Frank and Alice and I am right" she explained.

"Oh, it was about time. Good for them" Lily said smiling.

"I think it's lovely" Marlene said smiling dreamily at the couple.

"I think _you're_ lovely" James said raising his eyebrow at Lily.

"Ugh, bugger off Potter" she said rolling her eyes at him.

"Go out with me, Evans" James said sitting on the table in front of her.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid!"

"You know, you're very pretty when you're angry" James told her.

Before everyone knew what was happening, James was thrown across the room. They turned to look at Lily who had her wand out and, as if nothing had happened, returned back to her notes.

"He's gonna get killed one day, isn't he?" Cassie asked Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"Most likely, yes" Remus said.

* * *

After lunch, the four Marauders were hanging around by the Great Lake.

"I'm telling you guys, it would be brilliant!" James told the other ones as he played with the Snitch. He let it zoom further and further away but always managed to grab it at the last second. Peter was hypnotized by the snitch's extremely quick movements and couldn't help but gasp and applaud every time James caught it.

"It's a dead case, Prongs" Sirius said rolling his eyes. "Put that away, will you? Before Wormtail wets himself with excitement or my sister finds you and kicks your ass!"

"If it bothers you" James said stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket. "But my plan to woo Lily is not a dead case!" he said glaring at his friend.

"Absolutely hopeless" Remus said not even taking his eyes off his book. "Is getting pathetic, really-"

"Pathetic? How is it pathetic, Moony?" James asked offended. Sirius sat up and did his best impression of James.

"Oh Merlin's beard! It's Lily! Someone, please hold me because I am… having… an eye-gasm!" he said as he pretended to faint in the last part and Remus held him trying not to laugh even harder than he already was, and so was Peter.

"Shut up! I am not like that!" James argued childishly.

"Quite close, actually" Remus said between laughs.

"Well, whatever! I don't see any of you having a girl!" he complained childishly.

"First of all, you _don't_ have a girl" Sirius said as he finished laughing. "And secondly, I can have any girl that I want" he said shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, I'm still closer than any of you to have an _actual_ girlfriend" James told them. "I mean yours don't count, Peter always gets scared to talk to girls" he continued and they all saw Peter's cheeks turning red. "And Remus… um… well" he said stopping and thinking. "Huh, why _don't_ you have a girlfriend?"

"I'm sorry?" Remus asked looking up from his book. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know. I just realized that I've never seen you with a girl" he commented.

"You know, come to think of it, I've never known if you've ever liked someone" Peter said thinking back.

"Hmm, neither have I" Sirius said equally confused.

Remus felt his cheeks heating up. He would be lying if he said he didn't see anyone in that way. But it wasn't as easy for him as it was for his friends. He had a 'furry little problem' as James put it. They could date whoever they wanted, but Remus really had to think about his condition. He was pretty sure no one in their right mind would ever want to go out with him, let alone love him, like that. The truth was, every day he got more scared about the day that would come when all of his friends would find that special someone, get married and have kids and he would be left all alone to be 'Uncle Moony' to their kids. And for some reason, he dreaded the day when Cassie would find that someone the most.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked getting a little nervous.

"Well, Padfoot has dated a lot of girls-"

"That's right, I have!" he said proudly and high-fiving James.

"James dated a couple of girls too, and now he's obsessed with Lily-"

"I am not obsessed with her!" he argued.

"Mate, is becoming a problem, really" Sirius told him.

"And you guys have known about all of my crushes on girls" he added. "But you've never told us when you've liked someone" he pointed out and the other two Marauders thought of it as well.

"Hmm, I think Wormtail's right" James said.

"Why does it matter?" Remus asked annoyed.

"Come on, mate! How come you've never told us this stuff? We're your best friends!" Sirius told him.

"Is not that I don't tell you, is just… well… there's no one" he said looking down but James wasn't buying it.

"Really? No one at all? Come on, Moony! This is a big school and there are a lot of pretty girls here. Not like my Lily, of course-"

"Problem" Sirius coughed as Peter laughed. "Sorry, my bad."

"What's the point of it, guys, really? No one is going to go out with a beast! I could never ask them to do it!"

"Wait, is that what this is about?" Sirius asked him. "Moony, that's ridiculous!"

"Yeah! You can't let a furry little problem stop you from having a life!" James told him.

"Is not just the 'furry little problem', Prongs" he said sighting. "It's more complicated than that" he told them.

"How come?" Peter asked again.

"You know what? I don't have time for this! I'm going to the Library" he said getting up and walking away from his friends before they could stop him.

"He needs to get laid" Sirius said sitting back against the tree and Peter agreed. But James just eyed his friend walking back to the castle, knowing there was something more to it.

Remus walked as fast as he could, hoping his friends weren't following him. He didn't want to face the fact that his feelings for a certain someone were getting stronger. He couldn't let it out, especially not to them. Not to Sirius, he would kill him. He made his way to the Library, hoping to find some peace there. He was too distracted with his thoughts that he didn't notice he was already there until he bumped into someone.

"Wow, I believe you just fell for me" he heard the one particular voice he didn't really need to hear right now.

"Cassie! Sorry, did I hurt you? Are you alright?" he said getting up nervous and helping her up to her feet.

"Relax, Remmy, I'm fine" she said smiling up at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked curiously and saw she had a book in her hand, but she quickly put it away.

"N-nothing, just um… Lily asked me to pick up a book for her" she said smiling. "What about you?"

"Just needed to be somewhere where the Marauders weren't" he said with a small smile. She knew what he meant. She loved them, well, Peter… not so much, but the other two, and she knew they sometimes were just too much for Remus and he needed a break.

"Well, I'll leave you to your things then" she said as she was about to walk past him but she felt a gentle hand grabbing her arm.

"You don't have to leave" he said looking down and she could swear she could see red in his cheeks.

"Well, to be honest, I don't have anywhere to go" she told him smiling so they both made their way to an empty table.

Cassie got a book out of her bag and started reading. Remus also got his book out but he wasn't reading. He smiled when he noticed the book in her hand. 'The Beauty and The Beast'. He had given her that book last year for her birthday and she loved it. She read it every time she could. He noticed how her hair fell a little at her face and felt his stomach do little flips.

Cassie suddenly turned to look up and saw him looking at her. _Great! She caught you staring like some creep!_

"What? Is there something in my hair?" she asked running a hand through her hair and trying to fix it, but only making it messier.

"N-no" Remus said with a shy smile. "Just, happy you liked that book" he covered up and Cassie smiled at him.

"I love it" she told him before she went back to reading. Remus cursed to himself. Yes, he was falling for his best friend.

* * *

Potions. Remus hated Potions, James hated Potions, Sirius _despised_ Potions. Not only because of the subject itself, but also because for the past six years, they've had Potions with the Slytherins. But, surprisingly enough, Cassie liked Potions. She could even say she loved Potions. It wasn't just because she was better than the rest of the Marauders, even Remus. She just generally liked it. And this year, she needed Professor Slughorn's help with a little project she had been wanting to do since the beginning of summer.

"Hello, class, and welcome" Horace Slughorn said in the front of the class. As he began explaining what this year would consist, and all of the potions around the class, Cassie could hear James whispering behind her and Remus.

"I think Peter did the right thing by not getting even an A on his OWL. He got free of this class" he said chuckling and making his two friends laugh.

"Shh! I like Potions" Cassie complained.

"Why? Because of your stupid little Fan Club?" Sirius asked glaring at the other side of the class where the Slytherins were. Remus felt slightly uncomfortable at the way Evan Rosier was eyeing at Cassie. And Mulciber and Avery kept on whispering to themselves while checking her out.

"Ugh, you're the one to talk" she said glaring at her brother as they all noticed the girls from Slytherin looking back at Sirius. They all giggled when he looked their way and waved at them.

"Comes with the looks Cass" he said smirking as he stroked his hair back with his hand and Cassie could swear she heard the girls sigh dreamily. "You should know" he said winking.

"Oh, so would you like me to take advantage of my looks and flirt with every brute in this class?"

"Don't you dare young lady!" Sirius threatened.

"I thought you said-"

"Shh!" they all turned to look at the front of the class. Not to Professor Slughorn, he was oblivious of the four friends talking during his speech. The one that had silenced them was none other than Lily Evans, who was glaring at them along with Severus Snape. "Would you please be quiet?"

"Sorry Lily" Cassie apologized, but Sirius wasn't having any of it.

"Hey look! It's Snivelly, I see you haven't found a potion to make your hair less greasy… oh wait! It does exist! It's called shampoo. Might want to try it sometime" he said laughing a little loud along with James and even Remus and Cassie laughed a little.

"Cassie!" Lily complained but Cassie didn't care. She never liked Snape and she didn't understand why Lily did.

"…And whoever makes the best potion gets to pick out any potion they want to do with my help, of course…"

"Wait, what?" Cassie suddenly said hearing Professor Slughorn for the first time.

"Miss Black?" he asked confused.

"Sorry Professor" she said a little nervous. "Um, I was just wondering if you could uh, repeat that last part?"

"Oh, certainly" he said happily. "The first one to finish today's potion perfectly will win the opportunity of making any potion of their preference with my help" he repeated kindly. "Now, as I was saying -"

"Wait, hold on, so if we win, we get to do any potion? _Any_ potion at all?" she asked with her smile getting wider as their friends looked at her more confused than ever.

"As long as is not dangerous, and Professor Dumbledore approves, yes" he finished. "So, can anybody tell me what this potion is?" he said revealing the next cauldron in the front table. Almost immediately, Lily raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Evans?"

"Is Amortentia" she answered. "It's the most powerful love potion in existence" she finished.

"Correct! Ten points for Gryffindor" Professor Slughorn said happily. "Now, can anyone tell me what the Amortentia Potion smells like? Ah, yes, Miss Black?"

"The Amortentia Potion is rumored to smell differently to each person, reminding each person of the things that they find most attractive" she said with a hint of blush on her cheeks.

"That's right, another ten points for Griffyndor" he said. "Could you demonstrate, Miss Black? What do you smell?"

"M-me?" she asked a little nervous. "W-well, I smell um, chocolate and uh- the smell of tulips a-and an old book" she finished looking down hoping no one would notice her red cheeks. But one person did.

"That's very good" Professor Slughorn said. "Now, Amortentia doesn't create actual love, of course. That's impossible. But it does cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. For that reason, it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room" he said as he turned around and found a sea of dreamy faces leaning into the vapors. Instantly, he closed a cover onto de cauldron bringing them round.

"Please, I don't need a stupid potion to have girls sighing all over me" Sirius said smirking.

"Wow, I didn't think it was possible for someone to be even fuller of himself than Potter" Lily said smirking back at the group.

"Very well, so, today's potion. The student who, in the hour that remains, manages to brew an acceptable Draught of Living Death, the recipe for which can be found on page ten of your textbook, will win the prize" he said as the class seized in excitement. "You should know that in all the years of my tenure at Hogwarts, not once did a student brew a potion of sufficient quality to claim this prize. In any event… good luck!"

"Oh, please, what a waste of time" James said rolling his eyes.

"Shut up Potter! I'm winning this prize!" to everyone's surprise, it was Cassie who snapped at the boy.

"Why do you want to win that so much?" Remus asked curiously as they all went to get their ingredients. Cassie got a little nervous but still managed to answer the tall boy.

"There's um- a potion I've been wanting to do but I think I need Professor Slughorn's help to do it" she replied.

"Which potion?" he asked curiously.

"Um, Felix Felicis" she said hoping he would let it go. But again, she was wrong.

"What, why?"

"I don't know. I read about at and thought it was interesting so, I just do" she said looking anywhere but him. He knew she was lying but he had a limited time to complete his potion, so he let it go for now.

"Alright" he said walking back to his place.

"Alright, I'm gonna need your help" she said turning to face Sirius and James once Remus was gone.

"What?" James asked dumbfounded while Sirius looked behind them to make sure she wasn't talking to someone else.

" _Our_ help?" he asked just as confused as his friend.

"Yes" she said in an obvious tone.

"Need I remind you that we only got an A in our OWL for this class?"

"I know _that_ " she said rolling her eyes. "I need you to help me screw up Snape's potion" she admitted.

"Oh, sure" they both agreed without any hesitation.

"Not that I'm complaining, but… why?" James asked.

"Because he's wickedly good at Potions and I want to beat him" she explained.

"I really want to win" she pleaded.

"Why?" Sirius asked all of the sudden. Cassie bit her bottom lip knowing she wasn't going to be able to hide this for a long time.

"If you help me win, I'll tell you" she simply said.

"Fair enough" he said not needing any more explanations from his sister. Cassie smiled up at them gratefully and went back to her place.

Cassie wasn't a fool. She knew Snape was extremely good at Potions. He would always finish first and his potions were always flawless. She always noticed him scribbling different things on his Potion's Book. So, that's why, ever since last year, she charmed all of his Potions books, so that whenever he wrote something, it would also appear in her book. A lot of the scribbles were Lily's name, but she ignored those. She may like Potions, but her best subject was Charms.

She opened her book and a lot of scribbling started appearing as she did. She saw Snape quickly fixing a few things in his book.

"What are you looking at, Black?" he asked with venom in his voice.

"Just admiring your abnormally large nose, why don't you stick it out of my business?" she asked before going back to her book.

She ran her finger under the first printed instruction: _'Cut up one Sopophorous bean'._ She took the silver dagger upon her desk, poised it over the bean when she noticed Sirius' bean shooting across the room and bouncing off Marlene McKinnon's head. Cassie surveyed the rest of the room. Everyone as struggling to cut the resistant legume. She glanced back to her book and considered the instruction again. An arrow suddenly appeared drawn from the word 'cut' to the margin, where a modification was written in the tight scrawl: _'Crush with blade - releases juice better_ '. Cassie examined the dagger in her hand, and she turned to glance at Snape, who was in fact, crushing the bean. She placed the flat of the blade against the bean and pressed it. Instantly, the protective parchment covering the desk ran red with juice.

"How did you do that?" Remus and Lily asked at the exact same time, also catching the attention of the greasy haired Slytherin.

Cassie smirked at him before she turned to her two friends. "Crush it, don't cut it" she told them.

"No. The instructions specifically say to cut" Lily said reading her book again to make sure she was right.

"No, really, just crush it" she insisted. Lily turned around irritated but Remus tried it and succeeded.

"How did you know that?" he asked curiously.

"Um, just luck I guess" she said shrugging but she could feel the death glare coming from the pale, tall boy not far from her.

Cassie ignored him; she lifted the parchment and tipped the juice into her cauldron. It hissed and then turned lilac. She looked around the class to see the rest of the students struggle. She saw James' cauldron overflowing, and Sirius' cauldron letting out a little explosion. Through it all, they were trying to mess Snape's potion but it was harder than they thought. She saw Lily growing more and more frustrated. Her hair grew a bit messier in the steam rising from her cauldron. She heard Evan Rosier cursing over cutting himself. She saw Snape again and hurried as he was about to finish. He was also eyeing the small girl nervously. He was sure no one in this class could beat him… but, if there was some way someone could, it'd be Cassie. He saw as she added the last ingredients and sped up to finish.

The two students closed their respective cauldrons and raised their hand at the same time. "Done!" they yelled glaring at each other.

"Already?" Professor Slughorn said curiously as the rest of the class glanced over at them a little suspicious. "Let's see, shall we?"

Slughorn wended his way amongst the cauldrons, nodding with sympathy at the fiascos before him. Then... he stopped, staring in disbelief at the pearly sheen of two bubbling potions.

"Merlin's Beard! But they're perfect" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Excuse me, Sir, but, did you just say _'they're_ perfect _'_? Snape asked.

"Oh yes! So perfect I dare say one sip would kill us all!" Professor Slughorn said happily.

"That's not possible! I refuse to believe Black's potion is as good as mine!" Snape argued.

"What's that supposed to mean?" to Cassie's surprise, it was Remus who came to her defense. Yes, he would always be on her side, but he was never the one to make a scene out of things.

"She must've cheated!" Snape argued.

"Excuse me?" Cassie and Sirius asked at the exact same time and equally offended. Sirius even grabbed his wand but Cassie stopped him.

"Severus! That's a very grave accusation" Lily told her friend.

"Yes, _Severus_ I am offended!" Cassie said mocking him while Sirius smirked next to her.

"Mister Snape, I suggest you stop complaining unless you want points taken from your house and lose the contest" Professor Slughorn threatened.

"Does that mean I win?" Cassie asked hopefully.

"Not quite" Professor Slughorn said. "It's a tie."

"WHAT?!" both students asked in disbelief.

"Well, you both brewed excellent potions, and you finished at the same time" he explained.

"So, what happens now?" James asked curiously.

"Well, you will each have the opportunity to brew another potion to win" he told them. "Do you want it?"

"Yes!" they both said without even thinking before they glared at each other again.

"Alright, turn your books to page seventy-five" he told them and they quickly obeyed.

Cassie's eyes widened as she saw the name of the potion on the top of the page. Veritaserum.

"But this potion's brewing time is one lunar phase" Snape said a little confused.

"Precisely" Professor Slughorn said. "You both have exactly twenty-eight days to complete it. Whoever brews it perfectly, wins" he told them. "Alright, that is it for today, you are all dismissed!"

* * *

After dinner, Cassie had to go meet Sirius and James in the Common Room to tell them about the whole potion thing. It was perfect timing because Remus had to do his rounds with Lily. But as she approached her house's Common Room, something stopped her.

"Black!" Cassie stopped to the voice she knew and despised too well. She turned around to face Severus Snape running behind her. She should've known he wouldn't let this go easily.

"May I help you, Snivellus?" she asked pretending to be polite.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" he asked fuming.

"I'm afraid I do not know what you're talking abou-"

"Don't play dumb with me" he interrupted. "Why are you after that prize?"

"I could ask you the same thing" she said smirking. "But unlike you, I don't stick my nose in other people's business. Then again, I have a normal sized nose-"

"Knock it off! I know you don't care for potions!"

"Are you sure about that, Snivelly?" she asked smirking. "Think about it. Professor Slughorn mentioned only three people in our class received an 'O' in our OWLs. One of them was you, the other one was Lily… who do you think the third person was?"

"No!" he said realizing it. "You cannot be serious!"

"I'm not, that's my brother" she said in an obvious tone.

"That joke is stupid! Besides, I assumed it was Lupin who had gotten the 'O'!"

"Well Snivellus, as usual, you were wrong" she told him.

"Enough, Black! Why do you want that prize so much!?"

"For the third time today, Snivellus. It is not polite to stick your abnormally large nose in other people's business! Why don't you run along with your friends Malfoy and Avery and leave me alone?"

"I will leave you alone when you admit to Professor Slughorn that you cheated and back out of this contest!"

"I DID NOT cheat!" she snapped offended.

"I don't believe you! There was something in your book! Let me see your book" he said in a stern voice.

"Excuse me?" she asked trying to sound defensive.

"You heard me, I want to see your book" he said again.

"No! First of all, I have _nothing_ to prove to you and secondly, I don't want your greasy hands over my stuff" she said disgustedly. She turned around and was about to leave when she felt Snape grabbing her arm, rather painfully, and turning her back to face him. "Get your slimy hands off me Snape!" she said glaring at the taller boy.

"Listen to me, Black" he said in a quiet but furious tone. Cassie had to admit, it was a bit terrifying. "I don't know what you and your stupid brother are planning, but I will find out" he said threateningly.

"My brother has nothing to do with this!"

"I don't care!" he snapped. "You're going to back out of this contest!"

"Or what?" she asked defiantly but felt a little nervous when she saw him smirking evilly at her.

"Cassie!" both students turned around to see Remus Lupin catching up with them. Cassie could see the anger in his eyes when he spotted Snape's hand still around her arm. "Severus" he said in a serious tone. Remus was never one for name-calling, but Cassie could still feel the anger in his voice. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing" Snape said releasing before the girl. "I was just leaving" he said as he walked away from the pair still glaring at Cassie.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked concerned and Cassie only nodded. "What was that all about?"

"Uh, nothing" she said trying to shrug it off. Is not like she was scared of Snape, but she knew he was quite fascinated with Dark Arts and knew that he had even invented a few spells and hexes, she wouldn't like him testing some of them on her. "He was just upset over what happened today at Potions and he wanted me to resign the contest" she told him.

"What did he say?"

"He said that I cheated and that he didn't know what Sirius and I were planning but he would find out and that I should back out" she explained.

"Sirius? Why would he think Sirius has something to do with this? Remus asked confused.

"I don't know" Cassie admitted. "Look, don't worry about it, Snape is always just talk" she told him. "Go do your rounds I have to go meet Siri and James. I'll see you when you get back, ok?" she asked smiling up at him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked a little protective.

"I'm fine Remmy" she said smiling up at the boy.

Remus just nodded smiling and kissed her head before they went their separate ways. But he just stood there, watching her leave, only to make sure she made it to the portrait safe. He may not have been mean to Snape like Sirius and James, and even on some occasions Cassie, but that didn't mean he trusted him. He saw Cassie reach the portrait and she turned around to wave at him. He waved back smiling and walked away to join Lily to finish the rest of the round.

As Cassie approached the portrait she turn around to wave at Remus. He smiled waving back before he walked away.

"Your boyfriend is very handsome, dear" the Fat Lady said to the girl standing in front of the portrait.

"Um, he's not my boyfriend" she said blushing a little.

"Oh, well you better do something before someone steals him from you" the Fat Lady suggested. Cassie rolled her eyes and said the password to enter the Common Room.

 _The Fat Lady wasn't right, was it? No one's going to steal Remus away from me… hold on, he's not mine so someone could steal him. Ugh!_ She shook her thoughts out of her head and headed straight up to the boys' dorm walking in without even knocking.

"Hey! What if I would've been naked?" James complained.

"I would've been scarred for life" she simply said plopping on Sirius' bed. "Where's Peter?"

"He went down to the kitchens" James explained. "Should keep him busy for a while" he finished as Sirius got out of the bathroom in his pajamas.

"About bloody time you got here!" he complained drying his hair with a towel and tossing it at his sister.

"Shut up! Stupid Snape made me late" she said throwing the towel back at him and saw him shaking his hair and getting some water on her. "Wow, you act like a dog even in human form!"

"Shut up!" he said walking over to sit next to her. "Wait, what do you mean Snape? What'd he do?" Sirius asked getting mad and Cassie told them the whole story. "Hold on, he touched you!? He threatened you?!" he said fuming when she finished.

"Siri, calm down, Snivellus couldn't do anything to me" she said laughing but then she got a little nervous. "Right?"

"Of course not! We wouldn't let that happen Cassie" James said messing her hair as he sat down next to her too and she smiled up at them.

"So, now are you going to tell us why this is so important?" Sirius asked and saw Cassie biting her bottom lip. They both knew she only did that when she was nervous.

"Ok, I will tell you, but you both have to promise me you won't tell Remus" she said anxiously.

"You want us to lie to Moony?" James asked confused.

"No! Not lie!" she defended, knowing she couldn't ever lie to him. "Just um, not say anything" she told them. "This is important!"

"Cassie, what's going on?" Sirius asked getting a bit worried. Cassie sighed, she just needed to let it out. She could trust Sirius and James, they were her brothers.

"Look, last year, while I was studying for the Potion's OWL, I stumbled upon a very rare and difficult potion. So, after the OWLs I um, sort of _borrowed_ the book" she said and saw both James and Sirius smirk, both of them knowing exactly what she meant by borrow. "I read all of it throughout the summer and did, even more, research-"

"You're a nerd" Sirius said laughing and Cassie glared at him.

"Guys! I'm not joking! This potion could help Remus!"

That got the full attention of the guys as they stopped laughing and looked at her.

"What do you mean ' _help_ Remus'?" James asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Cassie, what potion are you talking about?" Sirius questioned her.

Cassie bit her lip nervously again before she grabbed her bag and got out a very old library book. She looked through the pages until she found the one she was looking for and placed it in front of them.

"The Wolfsbane Potion" she said showing them the page with the headline at the top of the page.

* * *

 **A/N: so, there it is! hope you guys liked it! :) please let me know what you think! ok? thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	3. Let It Out

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hello again! I am back, once again! :D first, I apologize that I took a little longer but my computer broke down and they I was a bit busy so it took me this long! but I made a longer chapter so hopefully I make up for that! I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story and a special thanks to an anonymous reviewer for telling me what you think and suggesting a jealous Remus! :D there's a bit jealous Remus here and there would be more ahead! haha you guys rock! well, here's chapter 3 for now! enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter :(**

 ** _You give me life  
Like lots of oxygen  
You treat me like  
I was in love again  
And I hold you tight  
Tight enough to know  
That you are mine  
I'd never let you go  
And it's you I miss  
And it's you I miss  
So let it out  
Ed Sheeran  
_**

* * *

James and Sirius stared at their friend sitting across from them and back at the book.

"The Wolfsbane Potion?" Sirius asked his sister.

"What's the Wolfsbane Potion?" James asked next.

"Well, is a potion that can relieve the symptoms of lycanthropy" Cassie explained.

"Wait, this can cure Moony?" Sirius asked taking the book.

"No" Cassie said sadly. "It can't cure it. It just eases the symptoms and prevents werewolves from losing their minds post-transformation" she explained.

"So, that means that Moony could act… well, you know?" James asked while both boys read the book.

"Well, yeah, they still transform on the full-moon but is almost as if he was-"

"An Animagus" Sirius finished for his sister.

"Yes" Cassie answered with a smile.

"Wait, so how come no one has ever tried to do this before?" James asked confused. All of the teachers knew about Remus' condition. If something like this existed, they surely would've tried to help him.

"Well, I don't know" Cassie admitted. "I read that if the potion can have disastrous side-effects if you brew it wrong, so a lot of people stopped trying to do it" she told them getting another book out.

"What about Professor Slughorn?" Sirius asked

"I asked him about it before summer" Cassie told them. "He said that he had tried to do it once, when Remus started at Hogwarts, and failed. He told me that even Damocles couldn't have invented it without immense effort on his part" she told them.

"So… you want to do this?"

"Of course I do! It would help Remus! And I want to help him! You guys didn't tell me when you were becoming an Animagus, so I can't help him like you guys do-"

"Ok, even if you _were_ an Animagus we wouldn't let you come out with us on the full-moon" Sirius told her. "It's too dangerous."

Cassie remembered when she found out her friends had told her about becoming and Animagus and was furious when they hadn't count her in. In the end, it was because Sirius said that it was too dangerous for her and that he wasn't going to allow it. He was a little relieved when Remus thought the same thing when he found out and calmed her down.

"Plus, you already help him plenty" James reminded her. "You wait for when we return every morning and do whatever you can so he won't fall back on his homework."

It was true, Cassie was never the one to get up early, but on the next day of the full-moon she was always up before sunrise, waiting for the teenagers at the Hospital Wing so she could stay with Remus while the other ones rested.

"Well, yeah, but is still not as much as you guys help him and this is something that I can do and I thought that it would be amazing if it helps him" Cassie told them.

"Wait, so why can't we tell Moony? This is bloody amazing news!" James told her.

"Because first, you know how Remus is. He's always telling us to not go out of our way to help him or anything" she told them and they laughed knowing she was right. "And secondly, I…" she said biting her bottom lip nervously again. "What if it doesn't work?"

"Of course it'll work! You're brilliant at Potions!" Sirius said kissing his sister's head and making her laugh.

"Well I still have to beat Snape" she told them.

"You don't worry about that! We'll make sure Snivellus stays out of your way" James said smirking evilly. "He probably wants to win so he can brew a love potion and give it to MY Lily" he said upset. "And _when_ you win, you're going to make it perfectly" he encouraged.

"Well, just promise me you won't tell Remus about it, at least until I have done it successfully" she begged them.

"Your secret's safe with us, sis" Sirius told her and James nodded.

"So, how do you do it? I have trouble understanding some of the words" James said with the book still on his hands.

"That's because you have the book upside down Jamie" she said laughing at her friend. "But I'm not sure how to do it, that's why I need Professor Slughorn's help" she told them. Before any of the other two boys could reply, Peter walked in with his hands full of dessert and Remus walking behind him.

"Hey guys" Peter said with his mouth a little full.

"Hey Wormtail, Moony" James greeted the two boys.

"What's going on?" Remus asked suspiciously at his three friends.

"Nothing" they quickly answered at the same time.

"Are you three plotting something?"

"Us?"

"We would never!"

"Why I am deeply offended, Moony!"

Remus rolled his eyes at them and made his way to his bed.

"Does this mean my Lily flower is back from her rounds?"

"First, she's not _yours_ , and second, she hates when you call her Lily flower" Remus said walking over to his bed and sitting down. James ignored him and walked out of the room to find Lily.

"You share a dorm with Lily" Sirius said looking at Cassie. "Is there even a remote possibility that she would consider going out with James?"

Remus and Peter also listened interestedly in her answer. "I love James, but I honestly don't see it happening. She really hates him" she told them. Before she could say anything else James marched back into the room with his hair all over the place and his face filled with soot. "Should I even ask?" Cassie said with an arched eyebrow.

"Mark my words, one day she's going to be Mrs. Potter" James said before walking to the bathroom.

"There's a better chance of Peter being Mrs. Potter" Cassie said laughing before she left for her dorm.

"And where have you been?" Alice asked when Cassie walked inside their dorm.

"Just talking with James and Sirius" she said shrugging her shoulders. "I could ask you the same thing, you know?" she said winking at her and saw her blush a little.

"You're not plotting anything, are you?" Lily asked warningly.

"If we were, I wouldn't tell you Lils" Cassie said with a smirk. "It'd take the fun out of it!" she joked. "So, you and Frank?"

"What about me and Frank?"

"Oh, you know, I was just wondering if you liked today's Ancient Runes class- Come on Alice!"

"What's going on there?" Marlene asked curious. Cassie had to admit, that as much as she loved the Marauders, she liked hanging around with her friends a lot.

"Well, we started talking more at the end of the past year" Alice told them. "And he owled me through the entire summer" she continued as the girls looked at her with bright eyes. "And that's it!"

"Wait, that's it?" Lily asked a bit disappointed.

"Come on, Alice" Cassie said smirking. "We all know that's not it!"

"He hasn't asked me out yet" she told them.

"Yet" Marlene said.

"Would you say yes if he does?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Of course I would! I have fancied him ever since third grade!"

"I knew it!" Cassie yelled excited.

"Well, I'm really happy for you. Frank is a really nice guy" Lily told her.

"Yes, and you guys would be so cute together" Marlene added.

"Enough about me! What about you, ladies?" Alice asked them. "Any boy you have your eye on?"

"No" Marlene said a little too quickly. Cassie eyed her with an arched eyebrow but decided to let it go.

"Ok" Alice said a little confused. "What about you Lily? I saw James asking you out again today" she told her.

Lily rolled her eyes. "He asked me out three times today!" she said annoyed.

"Wouldn't you ever consider to date him?" Cassie asked all of the sudden. She knew she had told James she wouldn't help her with Lily, but she had seen James changed over the summer and she could tell he was really serious about Lily.

"Cassie, I know he's your best friend and that you love him a lot, but he's a very arrogant, immature jerk" she told her.

"He's not that bad" she defended him. "You know, once you get past the surface" she explained. "And I think he really likes you!"

"That's only because I'm probably the first one he asked that said no to him" Lily told her.

"And what about you Cassie?" Marlene suddenly asked, knowing that James was always a touchy subject for the girls. "Is there any guy you fancy?"

"Um… well-"

"Oh, Merlin's beard! There is someone!" Alice shouted excited.

"What? How could you know that? I haven't even said anything!"

"You didn't say no! You always say no if there's no one" she explained.

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"Who is it?" Lily asked intrigued.

"I um-" Cassie said nervously.

"Is it Augustus?" Marlene asked her.

"No! Why does it matter! You didn't answer! And Lily only said that she didn't like James!"

"I don't fancy anyone right now" Lily said shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah, neither do I" Marlene said but Cassie wasn't convinced.

"Well, neither do I because is not like the guy likes me back-" she said before quickly snapping her hands on her mouth.

"Oh, so there _is_ someone" Alice said smirking.

"No there isn't!" Cassie defended.

"You just said there was!" Marlene told her.

"Cassie, how do you know he doesn't like you back? Maybe he does" Lily suggested. Cassie looked at her suspiciously. Does she know? _Um, what does she know? Do I actually like Remus? That way? No, that couldn't be right!_

"He doesn't" she said sadly. She knew Remus didn't like her.

"Well, all I'm saying is don't go jumping to conclusions so quick, Cassie" Lily told her as she got ready for bed. "You deserve someone making you happy" she added before she said good night to everyone and they all answered and went to sleep.

Except for Cassie, she just laid awake in her bed wondering if it was possible that her friend would like her back. Little did she know, a certain teenage werewolf was thinking the exact same thing not so far from her.

* * *

"Remmy, please!" Cassie begged for about the tenth time.

"No, Cassie. I told you, you have to do the potion yourself, otherwise, it's cheating" Remus explained for about the tenth time.

"It's only cheating if you get caught" Cassie muttered and Remus eyed her. "Come on, don't you want me to beat Snape?"

"Not if you're going to do it the wrong way" he told her. "And why do you want to win so much?"

"Well, first I wanted to win so I could do the Felix Felicis potion" she lied again. "But now I just want to beat Snape to mess with him" she said smirking.

"Nevertheless, I only got an 'E' on my OWL? Why don't you ask Lily?"

"Do you really think Lily is going to help me beat Snivellus? There's a higher chance she'd go out with James" she told him. "Please?" she pouted with big puppy eyes.

"Stop that! You look like Sirius" he said laughing.

"No, I don't! I'm prettier than him" she said batting her eyelashes at him.

Remus felt his cheeks turning a bit red, but he rolled his eyes at her and laughed a little. He sighted, knowing he had never been able to say no to her. "Fine. Why don't you just go get the books and I'll see if I can help you with something" he told her.

"Thanks, Remmy!" Cassie said hugging him and kissing his cheek before she went to get some books.

Remus smiled as the girl walked away. He saw her walking over to the shelf where she tried to reach for a book but couldn't get it. He laughed a little to himself and was about to stand up when his smile faded away.

"Do you happen to need any help reaching for something?" Augustus asked the smaller girl.

"Well, you know, since apparently, my parents decided to give away the gens of height to my two brothers, I would appreciate the help" she told him smiling.

"Anything for you milady" he said charmingly. "Which one do you need?"

"That one, please" she said pointing at a big old book on the top shelf.

Remus noticed that he was clenching his fist at the sight in front of him. Augustus reached out to get the book and handed it to Cassie.

"So, how come you don't have your security system with you?" he asked joking.

"I don't have a security system" she said giggling. "I have four annoying brothers that never go away" she told him.

"Same thing" he said shrugging his shoulders. "Wow, this is for very advanced potions" he said looking at the book. "What are you trying to do?"

"Veritaserum" she replied. "I'm up against Snape in Professor Slughorn's class" she explained.

"Really? Well, I'm certain you'll win" he said winking at her.

"What makes you so certain?" she asked looking up at him.

"I just know it" he said shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, thank you, I guess" she said with a small smile.

Remus saw he put a strand of her loose hair behind her ear and that was it for him. Before he knew what was happening, he was up from his seat and walked over to the pair. As he was about to reach them he heard Augustus talk to her again.

"Uh, Cassie" he heard him say a little nervous. "Um, if you uh… if you need any help with the potion maybe" Remus felt his heart beating heavily and his blood boiling just a little, although he wasn't exactly sure why.

"Yes?" Cassie asked a little nervous. She was pretty sure what he was about to ask her but she wasn't sure he was going to like her answer.

"Well, surely I'm not an expert like you but uh you know if you need help… later in the Common Room, I don't know, maybe we could-"

"Hey Cassie, isn't this the book you wanted" Remus blurted out grabbing a book from the shelf and standing next to the girl. "Oh, hello Augustus" he greeted trying not to sound as bitter as he did.

"Lupin" the boy said with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Remus said before thinking.

"Remmy" Cassie turned to look at him confused. It wasn't like him to be rude to the others.

"Oh, I was just offering Cassie some help with her potion" Augustus told him getting a little defensive.

"Well, that's very nice of you, but she doesn't need it. I'm already helping her" Remus said defiantly.

"Remus!"

"I didn't know there was a limited space of helpers in the matter" Augustus replied. "Don't you think maybe someone in Seventh Year could contribute a little better?"

"Not necessarily-"

"Uh, thanks for the offer Augustus" Cassie quickly said not wanting to draw more attention to them. Mrs. Prince was already turning their way. "But um, Remus did offer first and well, if a Seventh Year were to help me I think it'd be cheating" she said with a small smile.

Augustus looked a bit saddened and then he got mad when he saw Remus smirking at him. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me" he said looking back at Cassie who smiled politely. "I'll see you guys around" he said smiling at her and then glaring at Remus before he made his way out of the Library.

Once he was out of their sight, Cassie turned to look at Remus and his smirk disappeared when he noticed she was upset.

"What was that?" she asked him.

"What was what?" he said pretending to be confused.

"Why were you being so rude to Augustus? He was only trying to help!"

"No, he wasn't! James is right, he's a phony and I didn't like the way he was looking at you" he complained.

"Ugh! Not you too!" Cassie said upset. She grabbed the book on Remus' hand and walked back to the table to collect the rest of her things before she started to walk out of the Library.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Remus asked getting upset and grabbing his things before following her. "And yes! Me too! We're just trying to look out for you Cassie-"

"Maybe I don't need you guys to look out for me!"

"Oh, so you'd be fine with every single guy throwing themselves at you?"

"They _don't_ throw themselves at me" she said finally stopping and facing him again in the middle of the hall. "And even if they did, why do you care so much?" she asked suddenly.

Remus opened his mouth but closed it again. He wasn't sure how to answer her. "Well, you're my friend and I just… I don't want just some guy drooling all over you" he said softly. Cassie calmed down a little and smiled sadly up at him. Maybe she was expecting a different answer but this one was at least good enough. "Look, I'm sorry, maybe I didn't handle the situation very well but, I just… I don't really trust that guy" he said honestly. Mostly because he knew his intentions with Cassie and he didn't like them one bit, but still.

Cassie let out a small sight and faced him again. "Sorry I yelled at you" she told him.

"Is alright, I may have deserved it" he admitted and she laughed a little. He smiled at the fact that he made her laugh again. "Come on, let's go to lunch" he told her. She nodded and followed him to the Great Hall.

* * *

"Alright, so you do know that the Seekers are the most fouled players on the team, right?" Cassie asked and Regulus nodded. They were both standing in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch. Cassie had managed to get the Snitch, much like James did all the time. "We're usually the lightest and fastest fliers, and we need both sharp eye and the ability to fly one- or no-handed" she told him and Regulus nodded again. "Ready?"

"Uh, yeah" Regulus said a little unsure.

"Ok" she said grabbing the Snitch from her pocket. "Go!" she said opening her hand and releasing the Golden Snitch in the air.

Regulus was in the air before Cassie could notice. She grabbed her broom and followed her younger brother. She saw Regulus was following the small flying object as fast as he could, but before he could grab it, she sent a few hexes down his way.

"Cassie! What the hell?" he said angrily before stopping in midair.

"Imagine their Bludgers" she yelled back at him. "Trust me, the Beaters don't care if you're younger than them or if you're a girl!" she complained. "Their purpose is to prevent you from catching the Snitch more than anything. You're lucky Fabian and Gideon graduated last year!"

Regulus glared a little at his sister but he continued looking for the Snitch. He spotted it again and flew as fast as he could towards it. He was about to get it, when Cassie intercepted him and sent him flying in the other direction.

"Stop that!"

"That's sort of what Sirius and James are going to do to you, only they won't be as nice" she said to her angry brother.

Their game went over for a long time until the siblings began to get tired. During this time, Regulus had caught the Snitch every single time Cassie had thrown it in the air, despite the obstacles his sister had managed to throw along his way.

"Last time" she said looking up at his brother, who was taller than her even if he was a year younger. "This time, I'm going to be the other Seeker" she explained to him. "Catch it before I do!"

For the last time, Cassie released the Golden Snitch. Regulus was back up in the air in seconds. Cassie smirked looking at his younger brother and waited a few seconds before she went up in the air and followed the Snitch too.

Regulus was fairly close to the Snitch when Cassie bumped into him and got him out of the way.

"Cassie!"

"I don't care if you're my little brother, and I doubt that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would go easy on you because you're new. On the pitch your team is depending on you to finish this game" she yelled as they continued to follow the Snitch. "So, it doesn't matter if I'm the other Seeker you try, no matter what, to get it, understood?" she said in a serious tone. Regulus nodded to his sister. "Good" she said before she pushed him out of the way again and made her way to the Snitch.

Cassie made her way to the small flying object feeling her brother not far behind. She smirked at him before she flew even faster and tried to disappear out of Regulus' sight but he was determined to beat his older sister. He made his way to his sister and tried to reach for the Snitch. Both Black siblings were reaching out for it. Cassie was almost able to grab it, when Regulus pushed her to the side before he finally got it.

"YES!" he yelled triumphal before he turned around to face his sister, only to find her on the floor. "CASSIE!" he yelled worried before he made his way to the ground next to her. "Oh, God! Are you alright?!"

He was surprised when he saw his sister burst out into a laugh. "That was wicked Reg" she said smiling up at him. Regulus let out a sigh of relief and helped his sister up.

"Thanks for this Cassie" he said hugging her and kissing her cheek.

"You're welcome Reg" she said smiling as their made their way back to the castle. "Play like that on the tryouts and the spot is yours!"

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do! You're a Black! Is in your bones" she said smiling up at him. "Promise me you won't go easy on the other Seekers" she told him. "Even if it's me."

"I promise" Regulus let out a small laugh. "So, what did you tell Siri to meet me here?"

"Nothing" she said shrugging her shoulders. "He and James are in detention for hexing Snivellus and making his hair purple" she said laughing a little. "They're probably still there" she told him before he noticed his smile turned a little sad. "What's wrong?"

"What- oh nothing!" he said trying to shake it off.

"Regulus" she told him as they stopped walking. He rolled his eyes, knowing his sister knew him better than anyone else.

"Is just…" he said sadly. "I miss him" he admitted.

Cassie felt her heart aching a little. She remembered how close her brothers were growing up. And it didn't stop after Sirius and Cassie got sorted in Gryffindor. It stopped after Regulus got placed in Slytherin. Regulus had told her all about how he wanted to be placed in Gryffindor just like them. But the hat yelled Slytherin and Sirius felt… betrayed.

"He misses you too, you know?" she told him and Regulus rolled his eyes. "He does" she tried to convince him. Maybe Sirius didn't say it out loud, but she knew deep down, he missed his brother.

"He found a good replacement for me" he told her.

"James is not your replacement" Cassie told him. "He was just the only one to be nice to us when we were sorted into Gryffindor. Well, him and Remus" she said.

"Oh, right. That reminds me, what's going on between you and Lupin?" he asked all f the sudden.

"What? What do you mean?" she asked feeling her cheeks a little red.

"Cassie, do you honestly think _you_ can lie to _me_? I've seen the way you look at him and the way he looks at you" he told her. Cassie stayed silent. "You know mother and father would never approve, right?"

"When have they ever?" she asked a little sarcastically.

"Just… be careful ok?" he said getting worried. "I just want you to be happy" he told her with a small smile and she smiled back at him.

"And I want you to be happy too… ok?" she said and he nodded. "And don't think this conversation's over" she said stepping on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Back at you, sis" he said smiling when they reached the Slytherin Common Room.

"Love you" she told him.

"Love you too" he said with a small smile. He was about to enter when an unpleasant figure came out of the door.

"Well, well…" Lucius Malfoy said smirking at the siblings. "To what do we owe the high honor of having the beautiful Black sister with us?"

"Lucius" Regulus said stepping in front of Cassie. Cassie knew that Lucius had sort of adopted Regulus as his younger brother ever since his relationship with Sirius had become rocky. She never really approved it, though. "Um, Cassie was just-"

"Leaving" Cassie said with a fake smile. "I was just leaving" she told him.

"So soon? But you just got here" he said smirking. Cassie simply rolled her eyes and looked at Regulus.

"Bye Reg" she said before turning around and walking over to the tower. She said the password when she reached the portrait and walked into the Common Room. Her mood was quickly lifted up again as she noticed who was the only person sitting inside.

"Hi Remmy" she said spotting her friend reading by the fireplace.

"Hi Cassie" he said smiling up at her. Cassie didn't understand how just his smile could make everything better so quick.

"Where are the rest of the people?"

"Well, James and Sirius are still in detention and Peter ran off to do… something, I don't know. And the rest of the people I think are heading down to dinner which will start in a few minutes" he explained and Cassie simply nodded. "So, how was helping Regulus with Quidditch?" he asked casually.

"Oh, it was alright he's really good- WAIT, hold on!" she said a little nervous. "H-how did you know I was helping Regulus with Quidditch?"

"Regulus is a very good student, I didn't think he needed help with his OWLs like you said yesterday" he explained. "Plus, I saw you on the field and I can see the Snitch in your pocket" he finished.

"You know, I know you _love_ to know everything about everything, but sometimes is just a bit scary" she said with a small laugh. "Please don't tell-"

"Don't worry, I won't tell Sirius or James you've been 'fraternizing with the enemy'" he said dramatically and Cassie sighted in relief.

"Thanks" she said with a small smile.

"So, do you want to head down to dinner?"

"Oh, yeah, just let me take a shower first, I sort of stink" she said making a disgusted face.

"Yes, I was about to say that" he said joking and Cassie stuck her tongue out at him.

She made her way to her dorm and found Marlene there. "Oh, hey Cassie!" she greeted the girl happily.

"Hi Marlene, aren't you going to head down for dinner?"

"Yes, I was just waiting for Lily and Alice, they were supposed to meet me here" she explained. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to take a quick shower first and then I'll come down with Remus" she told her and Marlene nodded. Cassie gathered her things and was about to enter the bathroom when Marlene spoke again.

"Um, Cassie?"

"Yes?" the girl stopped and turned to look at her friend.

"Could I ask you something?" she asked blushing a little.

"Of course Marl, you know you can ask me anything" she said sitting down on her bed.

"Um, well… is sort of… embarrassing" she said blushing a little.

"What is it?" Cassie asked curious.

"Well, is just that um… I've sort of uh, have a crush on one of your close friends for a while now and, I don't know, I just-"

"Oh, is it Sirius or James?" she suddenly asked. She was used to some girls coming to her for help when they fancied one of them. But she wasn't expecting what Marlene said next.

"Um, neither" she told her. "Uh, it's Remus" she admitted.

Cassie felt her heart beating faster and her stomach drop. _So that's why she didn't say anything the other night._ She wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling, but she didn't like it.

"I ah- y-you fancy uh...huh" she said trying to grasp a hold of the situation. "You fancy Remus?"

"Well, I don't know if I fancy him, I just think he's really cute" the girl explained.

Cassie felt her stomach ache a little. Why did she feel like this? If Marlene had a crush on Remus, good for her, is not like he felt the same way… _Wait, why do I even care if he feels the same way?_

"Uh-"

"I mean, he just looks different, you know and I've always thought he was good-looking and he's really nice and funny and well since you guys are so close, I thought… maybe you could… um, help me?"

"Help you?"

"With him? I know he's your best friend and I know sometimes girls come to you to help them with Sirius or James and you know him better than anyone and, I don't know maybe you could find out for me if he likes me at all or likes anyone?" she asked hopefully.

So, what was Cassie supposed to do? Marlene was her friend; she couldn't just blow her off. But what if she talked to Remus? What if he liked her back? Why would it matter if he likes her back? She just decided to push whatever she was feeling aside and smiled at her friend in front of her.

"Um, sure, I'll talk to him" she said kindly.

"Really? Oh Cassie, thank you so much! You are the best!" she said hugging her friend and she hugged her back.

"Right, I am" she said not knowing who she was trying to convince before they heard their other two roommates walking through the door.

"Hello girls, care to join us for dinner?" Lily said politely.

"Uh, yeah, I'm um just gonna take a shower now" she said walking to the bathroom.

"We'll wait for you" she heard Alice say before she closed the door and was left alone with her thoughts. Well, one thought, Remus Lupin.

* * *

Back in the Common Room, Remus realized he was the only one left as he waited for Cassie when he heard four yells coming from the girls' dorm.

"Cassie!" he said standing from his spot and dropping his book. Lily, Alice and Marlene came running out of the dorm yelling hysterically. Before Remus could ask them what happened, they were already out the portrait. And then, he saw it. He saw a small grey rat coming out of their dorm and ran past him. _No! He wouldn't!_

"YOU FILTHY CREEPY LITTLE RAT! GET BACK HERE!"

Remus turned to the Dorm's door again to find his cheeks burning up in awkwardness. Cassie came out of her dorm running, wearing nothing but a towel around her body. Her long, dark black, hair was soaking wet.

"Cassie! What's going on?" he asked confused, trying to ignore the fact that there was his best friend practically naked in front of him.

"What's going on? I'll tell you what's going on!" she said fuming. "Alice freaked out because she saw a disgusting rat on our dorm, but I _know_ that _rat_ " she said aiming her wand at the rat running around the Common Room and throwing hexes at him.

"Cassie, hold on, calm down" Remus said trying to calm down himself.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? Don't tell me to calm down, Lupin!"

Oh oh. She was mad. She only used their last names when she was genuinely mad. Even Sirius'.

"Get over here you COWARD!" she yelled finally hitting the rat with a hex and revealing the small chubby boy in the Common Room.

"Peter!" Remus said feeling his blood boiling. "What the bloody hell did you think you were doing in there?"

"It wasn't what it looked like-" he started.

"I'll tell you what he was doing! He was waiting for me to come out of the shower!" she said furiously.

"N-no, I wasn't" Peter tried to defend himself but he kept on eyeballing the girl in front of him. Remus noticed this and stepped in front of the girl protectively.

"Then what were you trying to do, Peter?" Remus said clenching his fist and facing the smaller boy.

"I w-was" he said getting even more nervous when his taller friend stepped in front of him. "I wanted to-"

"You know, maybe we should have this conversation with my brother" Cassie said smirking at him.

"What-NO! Cassie, please" Peter begged, knowing fully that Sirius would probably kill him if he found out about this.

" _What_ were you doing in there Wormtail?" Remus asked still fuming.

"I just wanted to eat some of Cassie's chocolate that you gave her the other day. Honestly" he said pleadingly. "I- I didn't know you were taking a shower, I swear!"

Remus looked between his two friends. He could see Peter trembling at the sight of the angry girl and he could _feel_ Cassie trembling with anger.

"Listen to me you _disgusting_ little rat" Cassie said in a threatening tone walking closer to Peter. Her voice was quieter but both boys only thought it was a lot scarier. "If you ever talk to me, or so much as look in my direction _ever_ again, I'm going to make sure that Moony or Padfoot, or even _Prongs_ have you as a snack on the next full-moon" she said to the boy trembling in front of her. "Have I made myself clear?" Peter could only nod. "Now get _out_ of my sight!"

Peter didn't need to be told twice. He flew out of the Common Room as fast as he could. It wasn't until then that Cassie noticed she was standing with Remus, alone in the Common Room, with nothing but a towel on. She froze for a few seconds before let out a high pitch scream and ran her way back to her dorm.

 _Oh_ _Merlin's beard! Remus saw me! Remus just saw me with nothing but a towel. Oh dear Lord!_

She quickly put on a pair of pajama pants and the first sweater she could find, which happened to be Remus', and threw herself on her bed, mortified.

"Great Cassiopeia, embarrass yourself in front of Remus Lupin! You're bloody brilliant" she told herself through her pillow before she sat up when he heard a knock on the door.

"Cassie?" she heard Remus' gentle voice on the other side. How the Marauders managed to pass the stairs to the Girl's Dorms, she would never know and she was pretty sure, she didn't want to know… since Sirius was the one to figure it out.

"Go away!" she yelled before burying her head in her pillow again.

"Cassie, please, open up" Remus tried again. When he realized the girl wasn't going to open the door, he sighted in defeat and walked over to his room. He came back a few minutes later and tried again.

"Cassie?" No response. "I have cookies" he told her. He heard something moving inside before the door opened. But just barely. It only revealed half of the girl looking up at her friend.

"Chocolate-chip?"

Remus smiled down at her, not only because she was talking to him, but because of the sweater she was wearing. "Of course!"

"Can I have them?" she asked with big puppy eyes.

"Only if you come out and we can talk" Remus said putting the cookies out of her reach.

Cassie bit her lip deciding if she wanted to stay inside and avoid Remus or if she wanted the cookies. She decided she wanted the cookies and stay inside. Remus must've been reading her mind because he quickly pushed the door open and before Cassie knew what was happening, he had wrapped his arms around her waist and carried her over his shoulder.

"Remus Lupin! Put me down this instant!"

"Nope, we're going to get dinner" Remus said laughing.

"Remmy! I'm wearing pajamas and I have no shoes on! I can't go down to the Great Hall like this!"

"I never said we were going to the Great Hall" he said still laughing.

"Remus!" Cassie wasn't able to finish as she was tossed onto Sirius' bed. She was about to yell at Remus when she noticed that in the middle of the room, there was a small picnic with all kinds of desserts she loved. "How did you-?"

"Map and Cloak" he said winking at her and pointing at his bed where she saw the map and assumed the cloak was there too. She felt something like butterflies when he winked at her. "So, care to join me?" he asked sitting on the floor.

Cassie couldn't help but smile and joined him. They started eating in perfectly comfortable silence until Cassie spoke up.

"Um, Remmy?" she asked so quietly she wasn't sure if he had heard her. When he looked up at her, she knew he did. "Uh- thanks" she said blushing a little.

Remus smiled warmly at her. It was what he always did. Well, what they always did, but it was Remus' idea. Whenever Cassie was upset, they would go to the Kitchens, get every dessert possible and then ate it away with her. "Any time Cassie" he saw her smiling back at him so he tried to continue asking. "Are you alright?"

Cassie saw the sincerity in his eyes and she couldn't help but to feel her cheeks burning up all over again. "I guess" she said shrugging a little and grabbing another cookie.

Remus placed some of Cassie's lose hair behind her ear and raised her face up so she would look at him "Cassie" Remus said in a sweet tone. Cassie got a little lost in his eyes for a bit too long.

"Y-yes?"

"I'm sorry about what Peter did" he told her and she widened her eyes in surprise.

"What? You're sorry? You didn't do anything!"

"But still, what he did was um- inappropriate" he said a bit awkward. "But I honestly think he was after your chocolate" he said truthfully. "I don't think he would do something like that on purpose" he said.

"Is not just him" she said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked frowning his eyebrows in confusion.

"Is not just Peter" she repeated. "Is just…" she sighted before she smiled sadly at him. "You know what? Forget it" she told him.

"What? No, Cassie, if something is bothering you, you can tell me" he told her. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

Cassie smiled warmly at the way Remus' worry could be seen in his green eyes.

"Well, is just that…" she started again. "Every guy in school looks at me like that" she said sadly.

"Like what?"

"Like a thing, or a goal, or like the girl-version of Sirius" she admitted while she hugged her legs to her chest.

"The girl-version of Sirus?"

"Yeah, as if I am just like Siri, dating one guy after another" she explained. "You guys always tease me about the boys that have a crush on me, but they don't. Not really. They don't like me like that. At this point they're just trying to see who wins me over, but, have you ever notice they never look me in the eyes?" she asked sadly turning to look at Remus. "Is like what Bertram did last year, or today in the Library, before you rudely interrupted us, I was going to say Gus that I didn't need his help anyways" she confessed. "You and James were right and I didn't like the way he looked at me either. I guess I've never gone out with any of them because, I don't think is worth it. They don't seem interested in _me._ They don't look at me like that, like…" she thought for a while. "Like Frank looks at Alice" she told him sadly. "Or like James looks at Lily" she finished.

Remus opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He had never really noticed what Cassie just said. Sure, he had noticed the boys chasing after her, but he always assumed they really fancied her.

"You know what? Just, forget it" Cassie said grabbing another cookie. "Is stupid, really" she told him trying to smile at him and running a hand through her still wet hair.

"Is not stupid Cassie" Remus told her. He lifted her face once again so she'd look at him. "I'm sorry that you feel that way" he told her. "Those guys are bloody idiots to think of you that way" he said feeling angry on the inside for not noticing before and protecting her more. "They don't deserve you even giving them the time of day. I told you Cassie, you're beautiful. It doesn't matter how many times I have to repeat it, I will until you believe me" he said making a small smile appear on her face. "I mean it" he assured her.

"Thank you Remmy" she said smiling wider.

"Ugh! Finally! I thought I was going to be stuck in that classroom the entire night!" James said barging into the room. "Hold on, what's going on here?" he asked looking at all the desserts in the room. His look suddenly turned into an angry one and he looked at Cassie. "Who do I have to hit?"

Cassie let out a small laugh. James was really her other big brother. "No one Jamie-"

"Don't lie to me, Cassie" James said making his way to her. "We only do this when you're upset! Now, who made you upset?" he asked turning to Remus so maybe he would provide an answer.

Remus looked at Cassie and saw her pleading with her eyes. He understood she didn't want James or Sirius to know the whole 'incident' with Peter. Probably because she knew they could kill him but also because everything she had just told him. So he let it go. "Uh, it was actually me who was upset" Remus suddenly said and James looked at them confused. "You know, is only a few days until a full-moon and I was feeling a bit down and Cassie was trying to cheer _me_ up" he told him. Cassie smiled gratefully at him and even more when she saw that James seemed to buy it.

"Oh, alright" he said sitting on the floor and grabbing a cupcake.

"So, where's Siri?"

"Off with that girl from your Ancient Runes class" James simply said and Cassie rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat boys but I'm pretty tired" Cassie said with a yawn while she stood up. Remus knew that it was partly true, but she also didn't want to run into Peter so he didn't protest against it. "Good night, Jamie" she said walking over to him and kissing James on the cheek while she messed his already messy hair.

"Night, Cass" James said with his mouth full and messing her hair back.

Cassie giggled before she made her way to Remus. "Good night, Remmy" she said hugging him and kissing his cheek. "Thank you again" she whispered in his ear so James wouldn't hear.

"Good night, Cassie" he said smiling up at her and bringing her head a bit lower so he could kiss her forehead. Cassie smiled at the two boys and made her way out the door with Remus eyes still on her.

"I saw that" James said with his mouth still full and not even looking at Remus.

"What?" he asked confused at his friend, but on the inside, he got a bit nervous.

James swallowed what he was chewing and faced his friend. "I. Saw. That." he repeated nodding his head towards the door.

"You saw what?" Remus asked getting even more nervous.

"Oh come on Moony! Don't play dumb with me! You're the smartest of us… after me of course" he added.

"James, I honestly don't know what you're talking about" Remus told him again.

"You and Cassie" he simply said as if it was nothing.

"What about me and Cassie?"

"Do you like Cassie?"

"What?" Remus asked getting even more nervous. "Wh-what do you mean? Of course I like Cassie, she's been our best friend since first year-"

"No, no. Not like that" James said in an obvious tone. "Not like _I_ like Cassie" he explained. "Do you like Cassie as more than a friend?" he asked up frontally. Remus stayed quiet. He wasn't sure what would come out of his mouth if he opened it. "Is that why you got upset yesterday at the Lake? Because you don't want Padfoot to find out?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Remus said avoiding his look. James rolled his eyes and decided he was too tired to continue this conversation. Especially if Remus wasn't collaborating.

"Fine, deny it" he said getting up to go to the bathroom, but before he entered he faced his friend one more time with an evil smile. "But you know I'm right!"

Remus just stared at the door closing behind his friend. He let out a frustrated sight and leaned his head back hitting it with the foot of his bed.

 _Ugh I hate it when he's right!_

* * *

 **A/N: aaand there it is :D hope you guys liked it! :) on the next chapter there will be more Sirius/Cassie since I haven't put a lot about them! if you have any suggestions or ideas please let me know what you think! ok? thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	4. Wake Me Up

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hello again! :D I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys are awesome! and a special thanks to an anonymous reviewer for telling me what you think and suggestions! :D there's a one of your suggestions here (read to find out which)! and I will write the other one but maybe you can give me an idea on how? cause I couldn't think of anything haha you guys rock! so on a quick note, on this chapter there's a Quidditch match! :D and well, I honestly LOVED Lee Jordan's narration of Quidditch and his interaction with Professor McGonagall so, I wrote his father as the narrator and borrowed a couple of quotes from the books and some other scenes ;) well, here's chapter 4! enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of this!**

 ** _'Cause maybe you're lovable  
And maybe you're my snowflake  
And your eyes turn from green to gray  
In the winter I'll hold you in a cold place  
And you should never cut your hair  
'Cause I love the way you flick it off your shoulder  
And you will never know just how beautiful you are to me  
But maybe I'm just in love  
When you wake me up  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

Remus Lupin opened his eyes. His entire body ached horribly. It was the morning after the full-moon and last night had been a bit rough. Usually, Cassie was sitting next to him doing his homework or reading or eating or doing whatever but he couldn't hear her. It wasn't until he turned his face around and saw her sleeping on the chair next to him. Forgetting his pain, he smiled at the sleeping girl in front of him. She had books, Quills and parchments scattered around the floor. She looked beautiful. ** _  
_**

He still remembered when he told her that he was a werewolf on their third year. He had been terrified of telling her, but when he finally did, she had simply smiled and hugged him telling him that he was her best friend and he would never leave his side. And she kept that promise all throughout the years. She was furious when she found out that the Marauders had become Animagi for him and she didn't. Remus was glad, really, it was dangerous enough for his friends, he would've never let her get into it with them. He was thankful that Sirius had thought that too. He calmed her down by telling her that he didn't mind it because she helped him in a lot of other ways. Like on their third year, she would always stay by his side and would even sing to him after the full-moons. Or on their fourth year, she would always bring lots of food and books so he wouldn't get bored if she had to go to class and she wrote his assignments for him even if he said she didn't had to because he had to do them himself. And last year, she had charmed a Quill to, not only write on its own, but to copy exactly what she was writing in her parchment _and_ to make it seem like Remus had wrote it. How she did it? He would never now. It took her months to work on it. Remus knew she was really good at Charms but she always seemed to surprise him just how much.

He didn't want to wake Cassie. She looked so peaceful. But he didn't want her to miss breakfast so he gently shook her shoulder. "Cassie-"

"What? I'm up! Where? Do you need something?" the girl said jumping off her seat. Remus laughed a little at how adorable she looked.

"No, I'm fine" he told her. "I just don't want you to miss breakfast" he told her.

"Don't be silly, I ate before I came here" she told him. "But I got this for you" she said looking through her bag and getting a few rolls of bread out, some muffins and _a lot_ of chocolate. "How are you feeling? Sirius told me it was a rough night" she said worriedly.

"Yeah, it was a bit" he said looking down at the new scar on his arm. "But I'll live" he said offering her a smile. "Um, what time did you get here?"

"Around 4 AM" she simply said.

"What? Why so early?" Remus asked a little confused. She was usually there when the sun rose, but the sun didn't rise for about an hour later.

"Well, I was working on the Veritaserum and I didn't want to fall asleep because I might oversleep so I went down to the kitchens and ate and then I came here and waited for you guys" she explained.

"Cassie" Remus started in a warning tone.

"Remus" she said mocking his tone.

"Please tell me you aren't losing hours of sleep or eat to finish that potion" he told her.

"Does your arm hurt a lot?"

"Really? Changing the subject, just like that?"

"Remmy" she said looking down. "You know the potion takes time and I want to win" she told him.

"Why do you want to win so bad? Is it really worth it just to mess with Snape?"

Cassie bit her lip nervously. She wanted to tell him the real reason. But then, what if she didn't win? Or what if she won but she didn't succeed in making the potion? She would just get his hopes high for nothing.

"Yes, it is" she said smiling at him. "Now, eat" she ordered. Remus smiled a little and grabbed one of the rolls. "Here's your Ancient Runes essay" she said putting the parchment next to his bed. "And Herbology" she said grabbing another one. "And I did the Transfiguration one but I know you're still going to go over them and correct them" she said with a small smile.

"I am not!" he said a bit offended and saw her rolling her eyes.

"Yes, you are. But that's ok" she told him.

"So, when can I leave?"

"Madam Pomfrey said you could leave after lunch" she told him and he nodded. They were both glad it was a Saturday and they didn't have to go to class. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm ok" Remus said trying to smile but Cassie noticed the pain in his eyes. She smiled at him and sat on his bed, next to him.

"Why do you continue to lie to me?" she said making him chuckle a little. He had never been able to lie to her.

"Well…" he said looking away. "It's been a while since you've… sang" he said a little nervous.

Cassie smiled widely at him before she looked around to make sure no one else was there. She didn't really like singing in front of people. One day, Remus had heard her sing when she thought she was alone and on the next full-moon he had asked her to sing for him. She wasn't sure about it but saw him in so much pain, she thought it was the least she could do for him, and so she did.

"Any special requests?"

"Surprise me" he said happily. Cassie bit her lip a little before she decided her song.

 _Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high  
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby_

Remus couldn't help but smile. That was his favorite song.

 _Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue  
And the dreams that you dare to dream,  
Really do come true_

He was always introducing Cassie, Sirius, and James into muggle stuff like movies and music and they all loved it. Once when they were over at his house for the summer, he had one of his many run-ins with Cassie when neither of them could sleep and he showed her this movie.

 _Someday I'll wish upon a star  
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me_

Remus loved that movie and he loved that song. He used to watch it all the time with his mother and she would sing the song to him every night, and especially on the days after a full-moon, before she passed away when he was seven.

 _Where troubles melt like lemon drops  
Away above the chimney tops  
That's where you'll find me_

He had never told anyone about that, except for Cassie. She had seen the way it upset him when they watched that movie for the first time and he ended up telling her that. Ever since then, she would sing it every time he was upset.

 _Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly  
Birds fly over the rainbow  
Why then, oh why can't I?_

Remus knew right then, as she finished the song smiling at him, that he had fallen for his best friend.

 _If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow  
Why, oh why can't I?_

"Thank you" Remus said with a small smile. "I needed that."

"Anytime" Cassie replied smiling back at him.

After a while, the Marauders made their way back to the Hospital Wing and said they would take over so Remus wouldn't be alone and Cassie could rest a while. She didn't really want to leave but she didn't want to be around Peter and Remus insisted she'd go to lunch.

"Hey Cassie" Alice greeted when she made her way to her roommates' place on the table.

"Hi girls" she said sitting down next to Marlene and filling her plate.

"Uh, where were you last night?" Lily asked curiously.

"Um, what do you mean?" Cassie asked pretending to be confused.

"You never came up to sleep" she told her.

"Yes, I did" she said. she had become a pretty good liar when it came to Remus' condition.

"You weren't there when we went to sleep and you weren't there this morning" Marlene commented.

"Oh, right. I went to bed really late because I was working on the Veritaserum and I got up really early to go to the Library" she told them. Marlene and Alice let it go but she could still see Lily eyeing her suspiciously. "What?"

"Nothing" she said quickly shrugging her shoulders. "So, where's the rest of your entourage?" she asked.

"What's the matter Lils? Missing James already?" she asked mocking her.

"Shut up" Lily said glaring at her a little and decided it was best to just keep on eating.

"Um, Cassie" Marlene said when Lily and Alice started talking about something else. "Have you asked um… Remus yet?" she whispered so the others wouldn't hear.

Cassie bit her lip. She didn't want to ask Remus, but she didn't want to be rude to Marlene. "Uh, no, sorry Marl, I've just been a bit busy with this potion" she said seeing the disappointed look on her friend. "But I can ask him later, alright?" she said with a fake smile and seeing the girl smile at her.

"That'd be lovely!" she said happily. "The first Hogsmeade weekend is in a few weeks and I'd really like to ask him to go with me" she explained.

"Of course you would" Cassie said unable to say anything else and decided to just stuff her mouth with chocolate cookies.

* * *

After she finished her rather quick lunch, she was making her way back to the Hospital Wing when she bumped into an unpleasant, familiar voice.

"So, I see you still think you can beat me in this challenge?" Snape asked walking towards her.

"Wow, nothing runs by you, does it?" she asked sarcastically and trying to walk past him. But he stepped in front of her.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"I don't get it Snivelly. Is it physically impossible for you to stick your nose out of other people's business? Is it because is abnormally huge?"

"Step away from the competition" he threatened again.

"Or what? You're going to hex me?"

"I just might" he said casually.

Cassie let out a laugh to try to hide the fact that she was a little nervous.

"Go ahead, I'd like to see you try. I'd love to see what James, Sirius, and Remus do to you if you try. And I'd absolutely adore seeing what Lily says when her dear ol' Snivellus hexes one of her closest friends" she dared him.

"You know you don't stand a chance against me" he told her.

"Really? Then how come you feel the need to threat me to back out of the competition, huh?" she was about to walk past him again but he grabbed her arm and spun her around roughly.

"I am warning you, Black" he said glaring at her. "Back out of the competition or I'll make you back out!"

Cassie felt her blood boiling and looked him straight in the eye muttering "Flipendo" before she sent Snape flying back as if she had just punched him. Snape sat up furious and she made her way towards him.

"Don't _ever_ touch me again, Snape" she said furiously. As she was walking away from him when she heard him say 'Levicorpus' and she felt her ankle being pulled up turning her suddenly upside down. "What the bloody hell, Snivellus?! Put me down!" she yelled fuming when she saw Snape with his wand pointing towards her.

"Step out of the competition!"

"No!"

"Fine, you're staying up. Now, I'm curious, which of your Fan Club would you like me to call and find you in this position?" he asked with a small smirk. Cassie widened her eyes at him. _He wouldn't!_ "Scabior? Avery? Malfoy perhaps?"

"How about me?" both teens turned their heads to see a fuming Sirius Black walking towards them "Put. My Sister. Down. **Now**." he said with clenched teeth. Snape's smirk only grew bigger.

"Or what?" he asked. Before he knew what was happening, Sirius punched him in the face and Cassie fell from the air as Snape's wand fell on the floor along with Snape. Sirius kicked him hard in the stomach before he bent down to his level.

"If I ever see you go near her again, I won't be so nice" he said with a fake smile and standing up. He grabbed Cassie's hand and they both walked away from him. "You alright?" he asked worried as they made their way to the Common Room.

"Yeah" Cassie said looking down.

"Cassie" Sirius said rolling his eyes.

"He wants me to back out of the competition" she told him.

"He's still on that?"

"Apparently" she said shrugging her shoulders. "Wait, why are we going to the Common Room?"

"Madame Pomfrey said Moony could go. I was coming to find you to let you know when I saw you with Snivellus" he told her. "Did he do anything else to you?"

"He touched me" she said making a disgusted face. "But I sent him flying back with a spell" she said proudly. "When I was walking away he drew out his wand" she explained.

"I'm going to murder him one day" Sirius said as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Please, don't" she asked him. "I don't want to have to visit you in Azkaban" she said and he laughed messing her hair. When they came inside the Common Room they only saw James waiting for him.

"There you are!" James said standing up and walking over to them. "Did you guys know who the new Slytherin Seeker is?"

Uh-oh. Cassie felt her knees shaking a little.

"Doesn't matter who it is" Sirius told him. "They're no match for Cassie!" he said putting his arm around her shoulders and messing her hair again.

"It's Regulus!" James blurted out. Sirius dropped his arm and stared shocked at his friend.

"What?" he asked shocked.

"What?" Cassie said trying to be just as shocked. James raised his eyebrow at her but turned back to Sirius.

"Yeah, it's Regulus!" James repeated.

"How do you know?" Sirius asked confused.

"Peter saw them making their way back from the pitch" James explained.

 _Ugh. Of course, stupid Peter._

"Why are you so quiet?" Sirius said turning to Cassie.

"I uh- I'm not" she said letting out a nervous laugh.

Sirius looked intently into her eyes with one eyebrow arched as he came to realize it. James stared at them confused thinking this might be a twin thing. Before any of them said anything Cassie ran away from the two boys and made her way to the stairs.

"CASSIOPEIA!"

Remus looked up from the book he was reading and watched his friend running through the door of his dorm.

"Hide me!" she pleaded to her taller friend.

"What did you do?"

"What, me? Why I'm offended, Remus. My own best friend would think that-" Cassie stopped when Remus just arched an eyebrow at her. She was about to answer when her twin brother came running through the door with James not far behind. "I gotta go" she said rapidly before jumping over Remus' bed.

"Cassie!" Sirius ran after his sister and Remus stepped aside. He knew better than to get into a fight between the twins. "Get back here!"

"No!" Cassie yelled back as she ran around the room so Sirius wouldn't catch her. She was almost at the bathroom when Sirius pulled her by her waist and they both fell to the floor. He rolled them over so he was on top of her and she couldn't run away. "Get off me you big brute!"

"You knew about this, didn't you?"

"I can't breathe" she said trying to get away from him.

"Sirius! Get off her! She can't breathe!" Remus said worriedly.

"Stay out of it, Moony!" he said glaring at him before he turned back at his sister. "Did you know about this?"

"Maybe" Sirius tightened his legs around Cassie and she was actually having trouble breathing. "Ok, ok! I knew about this! What's the big deal?"

"Regulus can't be on that team and you know it!"

James and Remus turned to look at each other awkwardly. "Um, Moony, fancy a game of Wizard's Chess?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing" he said before both boys were out the door.

Sirius got off Cassie and tossed himself on his bed. Cassie stood up and followed him, sitting next to him. "Siri, he's fine with it-"

"What, did he tell you that?" he snapped a little at his sister. "He hates us Cassie, and he's going to hate us even more now that we're rivals! The entire team is made out of Death Eaters!"

"That doesn't mean he's going to become one! Sirius, Regulus is not like that!"

"It doesn't matter if he's not like that! Malfoy's the captain! He acts like his bloody brother all the time and now is going to be even worse! He _will_ become one of them!"

"Well, the only reason he sees him as his older brother is because his _actual_ brother turned his back on him!"

"I've told you a million times! Regulus hates us! He's the one that chose to be like mother and father!"

"He didn't choose anything Sirius! He was eleven! He was sorted into their house, it wasn't his fault!"

"Oh, what are you on his side now?"

"I am on nobody's side!" she yelled frustrated. "Both of you are my brothers!"

"Regulus is not our brother! He's a traitor!"

"He's not a traitor!"

"Stop taking his side!"

"I AM NOT TAKING HIS SIDE!" she yelled back at him making him quiet down. "It's been too long, Siri" she said rubbing her temples with her hands. "Aren't you tired of holding a grudge against Regulus? Is not his fault he could live to mother and father's expectations. Is not his fault that he was sorted in Slytherin like the rest of our family. Is not his fault that we weren't! Stop blaming Regulus for just being a part of the family" she told him. "Stop hating him because he could do it, and we couldn't" she said quietly. Sirius was about to snap at her but she stopped him. "I know just as much as you what is like to be a disappointment to the entire family, but that's not Regulus' fault. And that doesn't mean he's going to become one of them, look at Andromeda! She's nothing like her sisters and she was a Slytherin. Maybe deep down Regulus wants to be like us, but he still doesn't know how" she told him.

"Are you really that naïve?"

"I'm not being naïve" she told him. "I have faith in my brother. And so should you" she told him. "I know you're worried about him but give him a chance. He might surprise you" she told him.

"I'll think about it" Sirius finally gave in. "But don't expect me to go easy on him" he told her making her laugh a little.

"I don't. I also told him I wouldn't go easy on him" she answered.

"Good" he said nodding.

"I know you miss him" she told him. Sirius looked away from her. "Is alright to miss him, you know? Is not too late."

Sirius turned to look at her with sad eyes. "What if it is?"

"Trust me" she said kissing his head. "Is not."

"Whatever you say" he said rolling his eyes but Cassie knew that, deep down, he still had hope. "Come on, let's go tell the other ones we didn't kill each other" he said laughing before they stood up. Before he opened the door, Cassie stopped him.

"Um, Siri?"

He turned around to look at her. "Yes?"

"Uh, do you know if Remus um... fancies someone?" she asked trying not to blush as hard as she did. Sirius stared confused back at his sister.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, is just... Marlene asked me to ask him because she has a crush on him. But I've never talked with Remus about stuff like that" she told him. It was partly true. But she didn't really want to have this conversation with Remus. She thought maybe it would hurt less if Sirius was the one that told her that Remus did like someone.

"Well, he says he doesn't but I think is mostly because he's scared of telling the girl that he's a werewolf" he explained. Cassie felt relieved and sad at the same time. Relieved because he didn't fancy Marlene. But sad because well, he didn't fancy _anyone_.

"What? That's ridiculous!" Cassie told him. Any girl would be lucky to have Remus despite his 'furry little problem' as James referred to it.

"I know! That's what I said" Sirius told her. "Well, maybe if Marlene fancies her, we can get them together" he said suddenly.

"W-what? But you said he didn't fancy anyone" she said not really wanting to push it.

"He doesn't but, hear me out" he said getting excited. "If he sees that someone actually fancies him, maybe he'll get the confidence he needs and end up liking her back" he explained.

"But-"

"And there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming over! Huh, maybe I'll ask someone out and Moony could ask Marlene and we go on a double date! Wouldn't that be great? I have to tell James about this" he said smiling at his sister proudly for coming up with that plan before he went looking for his friend.

"Right" Cassie muttered to herself. _Me and my big mouth._ "Bloody brilliant!"

* * *

"Hello Cassie, Remus" Lily said sitting down in front of them at breakfast. "Are you excited for the Quidditch game today?" she asked her friend.

"Sure" she said nervously looking down at her plate.

"Cassie, eat" Remus told her for about the fifth time.

"I'm not hungry" she told him.

"You have to eat at least something! I know you're nervous but you can't go there on an empty stomach" he warned her.

"Remus is right" Lily told her. "You shouldn't go up there on an empty stomach."

"Fine!" she said stubbornly grabbing a bread bun, taking a piece and eating it. "Happy?" she said glaring at her friends.

"Not even close" Remus told her. She rolled her eyes and continued to eat the bread.

"Why are you so nervous?" Lily asked knowing this was an unfamiliar thing for the girl. She was always ready when it came to Quidditch.

"I don't know, I just… feel like something's… off" she admitted.

"It's going to be fine" Remus assured her.

"Well, this just brightened my day!" James said sitting down next to Lily. "Hello, beautiful" he told her while Peter sat on the other side of James and Sirius sat next to Cassie.

"Oh, and I thought this _was_ going to be a good day" she said rolling her eyes.

"Isn't it a bit early to be this grumpy in the morning, Evans" Sirius said smirking at her.

"Bugger off Black, I was talking to your boyfriend" she said smirking back at him.

"So, are you going to come see me play?" James asked raising his eyebrows at her.

"I am coming to the game, but not exactly to see you play" she responded.

"Ah, but you are coming" he continued.

"I may rethink that" she said glaring at him.

"You know what? If you cheer for me, I'll dedicate all my points to you" he said smirking.

"Don't you have your own personal cheering section?"

"Well, yes but one more couldn't harm" he said winking at her.

"Alright, I'm going to leave before I lose my appetite" she said getting up. "Good luck today, Cassie" she told the girl who nodded nervously before walking away.

"Why does she keep doing that?" James asked annoyed.

"Maybe because you keep on creeping her out" Sirius informed him with his mouth full.

"You're disgusting" Cassie told her brother.

"I do not creep her out!" James said offended. "Oh, look who it is, our newest rival" he said smirking at Regulus who rolled his eyes.

"I just came to say good luck to Cassie" he said smiling at his sister.

"She doesn't need luck, she's going to beat you" Sirius said defiantly.

"Sirius" Cassie warned him.

"Yeah, you might as well start crying now, because there's no way you're going to be better than your sister" James said smirking.

"Guys! That's enough!" Cassie scolded them before she turned to look at Regulus. "Good luck, Reggie" she said standing up and kissing his cheek.

"Oh, the betrayal!" Sirius said dramatically.

"Cassie!" James complained at the same time.

"SHUT IT!" she snapped at both of them before smiling back at Regulus. "I'll see you out there ok?"

"Ok" he said hoping she didn't notice just how nervous he was. But she did.

After they finished breakfast, Cassie's being almost forced by Remus' they made their way to the pitch. Remus held Cassie back just a little so he could talk to her alone.

"Hey, are you alright? You've never been this nervous before a game" he told her.

"I um-" she said nervously looking up at him. "I don't know" she admitted.

"What's going on?"

"I just sort of have… this bad feeling" she told him. "I don't know, is probably nothing-"

"Cassie, stop" Remus said putting his hands on her shoulders and making her stop standing from one foot to another. "You're going to be fine, ok?" he assured her smiling. She couldn't help but smile too. Everything just seemed brighter to her when he smiled. So suddenly, she didn't feel as nervous anymore. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you" she told him. He smiled and kissed her head.

"Anytime. Now let's go, you can't be late" he said grabbing her hand and leading her towards the pitch.

"Hello everyone and welcome to the first Quidditch Match of the year!" Richard Jordan greeted everyone on the field. "Not only is it the classic Gryffindor against Slytherin, not that we don't notice you Ravenclaw or Huffelpuff-"

"Jordan!"

"But for the first time in a very long time, there are siblings on opposite teams! It's the Black twins against their little brother Regulus, boy this is about to get good!"

"Jordan! Please limit your comments for the match itself" Professor McGonagall told him.

Remus, Peter, Lily, Alice, Frank and Marlene were sitting by the Gryffindor house, cheering for their friends.

"Alright, I want a nice, clean game! Understand?" Madame Hooch said looking at the team captains, Lucius Malfoy and Augustus McLaggen. Both boys shook hands glaring at each other. Cassie also noticed Sirius and Regulus glaring at each other. Madame Hooch whistled and everyone was in their brooms in no time.

"And it starts!" Jordan announced the crowd.

The game started with Gryffindor taking the lead. It wasn't long before they started winning against Slytherin and Slytherin started attacking them to beat them. James grabbed the Quaffle and raced for the opposite hoops to score. Lucius bumped into him, causing him to drop the Quaffle and grabbing it himself before flying in the opposite direction. Before he could get to the middle of the pitch, Sirius pushed him away and stole the Quaffle from him again flying even faster and scoring this time.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING-"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way-" Professor McGonagall started.

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

But the game quickly turned upside down. By mid-game, the crowd was going crazy watching as Slytherin Chasers, bent low over their brooms, jet past the overmatched Gryffindors.

"Oh Merlin! Slytherin's flying like they got dragon fire in their brooms" Marlene said a bit shocked.

Remus wasn't enjoying the match very much. Not only because he didn't particularly like Quidditch _and_ they were losing, but he had a bad feeling. Seeing Cassie that nervous made him uneasy, but he didn't show it in front of her. He borrowed Lily's binoculars and took a closer look at the game. He spotted Cassie circling high above the pitch, searching for the Golden Snitch. He smiled a little at how beautiful she looked with the wind blowing her long black hair tangled in a long, messy, side-braid.

Cassie spotted the Snitch not far from her and gripped her broom tightly before making her way to it.

"And I think… YES! Cassie Black is after the Snitch– what an amazing Seeker that girl is, and rather attractive too-"

"JORDAN!" they all heard Professor McGonnagall's voice.

"Sorry, Professor. Just a fun fact."

She was too concentrated into not losing sight of it, that she didn't even notice Avery and Scabior following her. Before she knew what was happening, she felt her broom being pulled back.

"Nice try, Black!" Scabior said smirking. Once Cassie stopped spinning, she saw Avery batting a Bludger her way barely missing her head as she ducked down.

"HEY!" Remus shouted furious from his seat.

"So, after that _obvious_ and disgusting bit of cheating-"

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall growled again.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul-"

"Jordan! I'm warning you-"

"All right, all right. Avery nearly kills the beautiful Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure-"

"JORDAN!"

"Keep your bloody hands to yourself Scabior!" Sirius yelled fuming from the other side of the pitch.

"Sorry, my bad" he said winking at Cassie who glared at him.

"Are you alright?" Regulus came flying towards his sister.

"What did I tell you?" Cassie said with a small laugh and Regulus smiled too.

Suddenly, Cassie looked past Regulus and saw a Bludger coming towards his head. "Reggie!" she yelled pushing him out of the way. Regulus noticed the look on her eyes saw the Bludger coming towards his sister, but Cassie was frozen.

"CASSIE! Watch out!" out of nowhere, Ben Gray, one of the new Beaters swooped down and bat it away.

Cassie watched it soar away, then blinked. The Bludger turned and streaked right back at her. Cassie jet off before it could get to her.

"What's happening?!" Lily asked worried seeing her friend was being chased by a Bludger.

"That's a Rogue Bludger!" Remus said worried looking through the binoculars.

"Rogue Bludger?" Alice asked confused.

"It's been tampered with!" Remus explained.

He saw Cassie flying in a series of zig-zag, loops, and rolls, trying to shake the Bludger off but the Bludger was relentless. Suddenly, something else caught Remus' attention, or rather _someone_. On the other side of the pitch, at the Slytherin side, he saw Rosier, Mulciber and Snape sitting together. But that wasn't the strange part, what was odd was that Snape was mouthing something and looking towards… the Bludger.

"It's Snape!" Remus said feeling his blood boiling.

"What?" Lily asked shocked.

"He's enchanting the Bludger to follow Cassie!"

"What? Severus wouldn't do that!"

"See it for yourself!" Remus said handing her the binoculars.

As Lily tried to convince herself that she was being deceived by her eyes, Remus saw Frank drawing his wand out and pointing it towards Cassie and the Bludger.

"No! Are you mad? You could hit Cassie!"

The six friends could only watch as Cassie frantically dipped and dove when Regulus crossed her way.

"Cassie! What are you doing?!"

"Get away from me Reg!" she said looking back to see the Bludger still behind them. When she turned to glance back at Regulus just inches above his left ear, she saw it again… the Golden Snitch.

Cassie gripped her broom tighter and flew as fast as she could. Regulus saw his sister pass him and followed in hot pursuit. They raced downward, trailing the hissing Snitch deep into the trench circling the pitch.

"Wow! Look at those Swiftsticks go! The Black siblings are really putting it through its paces now. See it turn! Oh yeah, the Tinderblast is no match for it. The Swiftstick's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long-"

"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE BROOMS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"

Shoulder to shoulder, they were racing madly, driving and dodging the wooden support beams that crisscross their path. Directly behind them, the Bludger followed, shattering the beams as it dogs Cassie. Regulus noticed the Bludger approaching his sister and bumped her out of the way so it would chase him instead but this only forced Cassie to the edge of the trench. Cassie brushed the wall, battling for control. Once she was out back on the pitch she bumped into Malfoy.

"Watch where you're going, Black!" he snapped at her but Cassie spotted the Snitch behind him and kept on flying. It wasn't long before Regulus caught up with her once again.

"Cassie!" she wasn't really sure if it was Regulus or Sirius that had yelled at her. She just needed to catch the Snitch.

"CASSIE!" Remus yelled scared to death standing up from his seat and making his way towards the Quidditch pitch as fast as he could.

She continued on, closing on the Snitch, her fingertips were only inches from catching it when…

"CASSIE!" it was James this time, she was sure of it. But it was too late.

Before she could see it coming, the Rogue Bludger smashed into her left arm. Cassie screamed out in pain but steadied herself and managed to snatch the Snitch out of the air with her good hand. Unable to control her broom with her shattered arm, she hit the pitch with a sickening thud. Feeling a massive headache and wincing in pain, she squinted up to see a black dot, growing rapidly larger and plummeting from the sky directly towards her. The Rogue Bludger. Instantly, Cassie spun away, screaming in agony and fear, as the Bludger hit the ground like a sledgehammer, violently against the pitch again, and again, only inches away from her. She saw both of her brothers, and James making their way to her as fast as possible. And the last thing she saw… no, it couldn't be. She saw Remus Lupin running into the middle of the pitch with his wand out, pointing it at the Bludger in the air and then, everything went black.

"Finite Incantatem!" he yelled making the Bludger hang briefly in the air before it slowly ceased spinning and dropped heavily to the pitch. "Cassie!"

Sirius, James, and Regulus landed at the same time around Cassie.

"Cassie!" Sirius kneeled down next to her. "Moony! What's wrong with her?" he asked looking up at his friend. Remus saw something he had never seen in Sirius. Fear.

"I don't know, Padfoot. We should take her to Madam Pomfrey" he said kneeling on the other side of Cassie as the rest of both teams landed.

"Is she alright?" Augustus asked making his way towards the group. Remus glared at him a little but stopped when he saw James noticed.

"Hey, what's that on her hand?" James asked suddenly. Sirius opened Cassie's tight fist to reveal the Golden Snitch inside.

"Bloody hell!" Augustus said impressed.

"No! She couldn't have!" Malfoy said getting upset along with the rest of the Slytherin team.

"Unbelievable!" they heard Richard's voice through the speakers. "Gryffindor wins!"

* * *

Sirius was sitting at the Hospital Wing, next to his sister's bed. He hadn't spoken since the match. He didn't even smile when they mentioned Gryffindor won. He could only focus on the girl lying in front of him with a broken arm. Madam Pomfrey said she could fix it easily and that she could wake up any minute. She just needed to rest. He hadn't even gone to dinner. He told the other ones to go on without him and to bring him back something. Although Remus had been reluctant into going, James convinced him and they left. He sat there for Merlin knows how long when he heard someone coming in.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing here?" he said standing up and glaring at his little brother.

"She's my sister too, Sirius!" Regulus said offended.

"You're the reason she's in here!"

"What? How is this _my_ fault?"

"I saw you bumping her out of your way and tossing her in the middle of the pitch with the Bludger following her!"

"You think I did that?" Regulus snapped. "I bumped her out of the way so the Bludger would hit _me_ instead!"

"Why don't you tell that delightful story to mother, Regulus, maybe _she'll_ buy it" Sirius said getting even madder.

"I would _never_ hurt Cassie! You know that!"

"Do I? You're a Slytherin! Maybe you thought that was the only way that you could beat her! I don't really know, I don't even know you anymore!"

"Oh, yeah? And who's fault is that, Siri?" Regulus said before calming down. Sirius felt his stomach in knots. It had been years since _Regulus_ had called him Siri.

"Misters Black!" Madam Pomfrey said looking towards them. "I understand you both are very worried for your sister, but if you don't quiet down I will have to ask you to leave" she warned them. Both boys mumbled 'Sorry' and she went back to tend her business.

"Ever since I got sorted into Slytherin I became invisible to you!" Regulus admitted, with his voice a little lower, for the first time in five years. Sirius avoided his eyes and sat back down. Regulus sat on the other side of his sister, facing his brother.

"Is not just that you're in Slytherin! Look at your team! Look at your friends! You're becoming like them! You were not like this. You agree with everything father and mother tell you to do! Don't you? Perfect little Regulus being Prefect in the Slytherin House with the perfect pure-blood friends and the perfect grades" Sirius saw Regulus getting angrier with every word he was saying. "What? Are you going to tell mummy and daddy on me? You're a coward!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Sirius! I'm sorry I'm not as brave as you and Cassie! I'm sorry I saw how you both got treated when you came back from Hogwarts and I couldn't take it and hoped to be sorted in Slytherin! Believe me, if I could do it again, I would give anything to be in the same house as you guys! Don't you think it kills me to see you two together all the time? You guys just…" he stopped, sighing. "you left me behind" he said looking at Cassie. "I know you're disappointed in me for not being in Gryffindor, but I would _never_ hurt Cassie" he said with his voice breaking a little. Sirius let out a frustrated sigh. "You guys are…" Sirius saw Regulus look down at the floor with the saddest look he'd seen on his brother. "You're still my best friends" he admitted.

After a long time of silence, Sirius spoke again. "I wasn't disappointed that you were in Slytherin" he muttered.

"What?" Regulus asked. Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to look at his brother.

"I wasn't disappointed that you were in Slytherin" he repeated. "I mean, I was, but not for the reason you think" he admitted. "Not because I hate Slytherin and everyone in it" he continued. "It was because I really wanted you to be in Gryffindor with us" he told him. Regulus was really surprised. Sirius had never admitted this to him. Sirius had never really spoken to him ever since his first year unless it was really necessary. "I just… thought that if you were in Slytherin then… in time… you were going to hate me too" he admitted.

"I don't hate you" Regulus said shrugging his shoulders. "Thought _you_ hated _me_ , to be honest" he told him. "And that you had sort of… replaced me with James" he admitted.

Sirius looked at him a bit sad. He had no idea he had hurt his younger brother that much. "Did I ever tell you about our first day at Hogwarts?" he asked suddenly and Regulus shook his head. "Cassie was scared to death" he said with a small laugh and making Regulus laugh too. "Anyways when we were all waiting to be sorted, Snivellus thought his opinion was welcomed and told us that we'd better be in Slytherin. James started saying how he'd leave if he was sorted into Slytherin. Cassie told him our entire family was in Slytherin and he said he had thought we seemed all right. I told him that maybe we would break the tradition and well, when we did break that tradition, we walked over to the Gryffindor table and everyone was looking at us as if we were ghosts. When we were back in the Common Room, Cassie was even more nervous, until James called out our names and said: 'I knew you were all right!'" Sirius finished with a small laugh. It seemed like ages ago. "James and Remus were the first ones to be nice to us. Everyone else thought we belonged in Slytherin, like mother and father" he told him.

"How did you become friends with Lupin?" he asked curiously.

"On our first night here, mother thought it was a splendid idea to send a Howler, saying how disappointed she was that we weren't in Slytherin and we had to share dorms with muggle-borns and half-bloods" he told him. "Cassie started crying and Moony saw us. He came over and calmed her down" he explained and Regulus nodded. "I didn't replace you with them, they were just… they didn't care, you know? Where we came from, about our family, they were just… nice" he explained.

"Well, isn't this lovely?" they were both surprised to hear the voice coming between them. They both turned to see their sister smiling sweetly at them. "My two boys are finally getting along!" she mocked them.

"Cassie!" both brothers said getting up from their chairs and kneeling on each side of her. They hadn't even noticed she had woken up. "Are you alright?" Sirius asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Siri" she said sitting up a little. As if her brothers were the ones that were twins, both boys replaced their looks of worry with looks of anger.

"Well, bloody hell, Cassiopeia! You nearly scare us to death!"

"What the hell were you thinking? You might as well jump off your broom while you were at it!"

Cassie couldn't help but smile. She couldn't remember the last time her brothers were in the same room without arguing or glaring at each other.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" Sirius asked upset.

"No, I don't, I just… I missed this" she said smiling. Sirius and Regulus turned to look at each other knowing exactly what she was talking about. She was always in the middle of them when they fought.

"How are you feeling?" Regulus asked looking worried at her.

"To be honest, my arm doesn't really hurt much and I have a small headache but that's it" she said before her stomach growled loudly. "Oh, yeah and I'm starving!"

"Madame Pomfrey said you couldn't leave until morning but Prongs and Moony are coming with my dinner, I'll give you some" Sirius told her.

"Why that's very generous of you, my dear Siri" she said with a small smile. The three siblings turned around to see someone walking in the Hospital Wing.

"Hey, Padfoot we weren't sure what you wanted so-" James and Remus stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed the girl was awake. "CASSIE!"

Both boys made their way to her bed, ignoring her brothers and hugged her a bit too tight.

"Are you alright?!"

"We've been so worried!"

"Um, guys, I need to breathe" she managed to say.

"Yes, get off, idiots!" Sirius said pushing them away from his sister. Regulus noticed Remus was a bit upset when he was separated from Cassie but decided not to say anything.

"Well, I'm glad you're ok, Cassie" he said walking over to her bed and kissing her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

Cassie smiled at her little brother. "Love you Reg!"

"Love you too" he said smiling. He stood up and turned to the three friends. "Gentlemen" he said with a small smile before walking away.

"Bye Reg!" Sirius said making him stop and look back at him. Remus and James looked at each other with confused looks but didn't say anything.

"So" Cassie said grabbing a loaf of bread from James' hand. "Did we win?"

"You bet your sweet little ass we did" James said winking at her. "Thanks to you!"

"Well, of course" she said smiling.

"Careful sis, you're starting to sound like me" Sirius said laughing.

"Um, guys" Remus said all of the sudden and the other three turned to look at someone. "I have to tell you something" he said a bit worried.

"What is it, Moony?" Sirius asked confused.

"Um, the Bludger that was chasing Cassie" he said looking at the girl. "Someone enchanted it so it would follow her" he explained.

"What?" Sirius and James snapped at the same time. Cassie just looked at him a little scared.

"How do you know?" she asked him.

"Wait, you knew?" Sirius asked her.

"Well, the first time Avery threw it at me, it flew away, but it wasn't long before it came back. I thought it was a coincidence but when Ben bat it away from me, I could swear I saw it stopping and it stroke after me. That's when I knew something was off, but I didn't think someone would-" she finished looking at Remus.

"Who did it?" Sirius asked fuming.

"I'm not sure but I think... it was Snape" Remus told them. He knew as soon as he'd say that name, James and Sirius would want to kill that person. Normally, he wouldn't approve of that behavior but on this case, he wanted to murder Snape himself.

"WHAT?!" Sirius snapped fuming.

"Mister Black!" Madame Pomfrey warned again. "It is already grave that Mr. Potter and Mr. Lupin are here" she informed them. "Do not make me regret my decision" she told them.

"Sorry, Poppy" the three boys apologized at the same time.

"And don't call me Poppy!" she complained before getting back into her office.

"So, how come you're not sure if it was him?" Cassie asked turning the attention back to her.

"When I noticed the Bludger started chasing you, I was watching through Lily's binoculars and I saw Snape was mumbling something and he was looking at the Bludger" he explained.

"That bastard!"

"Mr. Potter!"

"Sorry!" James said getting back to the matter.

"I am going to murder Snivellus" Sirius said between clenched teeth.

"Siri, we don't know if it was him" Cassie told him.

"Right, because he would be mumbling and looking at a Bludger just for nothing" James told her.

"But why would he do it?" Remus asked confused and they all turned to look at Cassie. Cassie bit her lip nervously looking between her friends.

"Cassie, what are you not telling us?"

Cassie sighed and gave up. "Snape threatened me, telling me to back out of the competition" she explained.

"What? When did this happen?" Remus asked worriedly.

"Um" Cassie said trying to remember. "The day after the full-moon" she said not facing Remus.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sirius asked a little mad.

"Because I never thought he'd do something like this. I honestly thought he was just trying to scare me" she told them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Prongs?" Sirius asked smirking evilly at his friends.

"I believe I am, my dear ol' Padfoot" James said with the exact smirk.

"Is this what it looks like when Sirius and I make the same face?" she asked Remus.

"Actually when you guys do it is not this scary" he told her.

"Well, my dear beloved Cassie, we'll leave you to rest now" James said kissing her head. "We have much planning to do" he informed her.

"Just don't get yourselves killed, ok?" she asked with a small smile.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll have Moony go over the plans so we stay safe" Sirius said winking at her and kissing her forehead. "I love you" he said smiling.

"Love you too, Siri" she said smiling back at him.

"Aren't you coming, Moony?" Sirius asked when he saw his friend didn't move.

"Uh, you guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you" he said with a small smile, ignoring James' smirk towards him. Once they were left alone, Cassie smiled nervously at him.

"You know, it wasn't long when this was the other way around" she joked, remembering the day after the full-moon.

"Cassie, this isn't funny" Remus said sitting on the edge of her bed. "You could've been really hurt today" he said worriedly.

"But you saved me" she told him. "You stopped the Bludger!"

"Yes, but what if I hadn't?" he snapped a little. "What if Snape tries something else?"

"He won't-"

"How do you know? You said you didn't think he'd do something and he did! Why didn't you tell us about it?"

"I don't know. It was on the day after the full-moon and I didn't want you to worry and-"

"Is this really worth it, though?" he asked suddenly. "Is this competition really worth that much to you that you would put yourself in danger?"

"Are you saying I should back out?" she asked upset.

"I'm just trying to understand why is it so important for you to win?"

She bit her bottom lip nervously and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Remmy, please just trust me on this" she whispered. "I promise I'll tell you about it but… not yet a-and I promise I'll tell you if Snape tries something else just… please don't be mad at me" she asked him with huge puppy eyes.

Remus sighed. "I'm not mad at you Cassie" he said kissing her head and sitting next to her. "I was just worried, is all" he told her. "I got really scared" he admitted.

Cassie didn't say anything. She just rested her head on his shoulder. "Sorry I scared you" she told him.

"It's alright" he said with a small smile. "Just don't do it again, ok?" he asked lifting her head so she would look at him. "Ever" he pleaded.

"I'll try my best" she said with a small smile.

"Good" he said in a quiet tone. Cassie didn't know if she was imagining it but she could swear their heads were getting closer. Remus put a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Because I honestly don't know what I would do without you" he whispered. Cassie felt Remus pulling her head just a little bit with his hand still under her chin and she saw him leaning towards her when…

"Mr. Lupin! What are you still doing here?!" both teenagers jumped apart, their faces redder than the color of their house, when Madam Pomfrey came into the room. "Visiting hours are over! You may head to your tower now. You can visit Miss Black tomorrow!" she warned him.

"Right, s-sorry Madame Pomfrey, I was just heading out" he told her with an awkward smile. He got up from the bed and looked back down at Cassie. "I'll see you tomorrow" he said leaning down to kiss her forehead. Cassie just smiled back at him nodding.

"Now, try to get some sleep Miss Black" Madame Pomfrey told her. "Your arm is going to be good as new once you wake up" she said before walking away.

Cassie simply nodded but she was a bit spaced out. Her eyes were spotted on the sweater Remus had left behind in a chair. She got out of her bed and grabbed it. She put it around her shoulders since she couldn't lift her arm to put it properly, and she went back to bed with a big smile on her face. Yes, she was falling for her best friend.

* * *

 **A/N: aaand another chapter done! :D hope you guys liked it! :) again, if you have any suggestions or ideas they're always welcome! so, I know a lot of you guys followed me and favorited me but I would love some more reviews ;) so please let me know what you think! ok? thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Song: Over The Rainbow - Judy Garland**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	5. UNI

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hi everyone! me again! :D first off, I wanted to apologize for this chapter because I had some trouble posting it first, and then when I did, I didn't like it so I fixed it and re-posted it! sorry about that! alright, I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys rock! and a special thanks to my anonymous reviewer (I assume you're the same person! at least sign your name so I can give you a proper thank you ;)) for telling me what you thought and your suggestions! don't worry, they're not ready to tell each other about their feelings yet :D you my friend are amazing! so this chapter is a bit longer than I intended it to be so that's why I ended up splitting it into two and adding it more on each of them! anyways, here's chapter 5 hope you guys like it! enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _So am I close to you anymore, if it's over?  
And there's no chance that we'll work it out  
That's why you and I ended over U N I  
And I said that's fine  
But you're the only one that knows I lied  
You and I ended over U N I  
And I said that's fine  
But you're the only one that knows I lied  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"So, are you ready?" Remus asked Cassie as they made their way to Potions. He was carrying her cauldron despite her protesting against it.

"I guess" she said looking down.

"What's wrong?"

Cassie turned up to look at him. She was scared to death. After the Bludger incident, Snape hadn't done anything else to her, mostly because James, Sirius and Remus made it sure that at least one of them was with her, but still. She couldn't help but to think that it meant that his potion was better than hers. That maybe she didn't brew it correctly, or didn't add all the ingredients when she was supposed to or-

"Cassie?" Remus said taking her out of her thoughts. "I know what you're thinking."

"Really?" she asked smirking at him. "What am I thinking?"

"That Snape's potion is probably better than yours or that maybe you didn't brew your potion correctly or you didn't add all the ingredients on time or something like that" he simply said erasing that smirk off her face.

"How did you know that?"

"I've known you since we're eleven" he said shrugging his shoulders. "I can tell when you're over-thinking something" he said joking but she only let out a nervous laugh. If Snape's potion was better than hers, if she didn't brew hers correctly, it only meant that she was going to lose. And that meant she wasn't going to be able to do the Wolfsbane Potion. And she wouldn't be able to help Remus. "Look" he said as he stopped walking and he made her look at him. "You're a brilliant witch, Cassie and I am certain that you made this potion perfectly. You're going to beat Snape, and even if you don't, it doesn't make you any less good" he said with a soft smile.

She let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding and smiled a little too. "Thanks Remmy" she told him. Remus smiled at her and kissed her head before they made their way to their class where they found James and Sirius suspiciously already there.

"What are you guys doing here already?"

"What? Is it a crime to come to class early now?"

"Yes, honestly I am deeply offended that you two would think that we do not care about our education in Potions!"

Cassie and Remus rolled their eyes and let it go. She went to set her cauldron in the front of the class where she saw Snape with his cauldron in front of him.

"Black" he said glaring at her.

"Snivellus" she responded standing next to him.

"Last chance" he simply said. Cassie turned to look at Remus who was smiling brightly at her. She could not let him down.

"Bite me" she said smirking back at Snape.

"Well now, settle down, class" Professor Slughorn said walking inside and interrupting whatever Snape's response to Cassie was going to be. "The time has come to reveal the winner of the contest we made at the beginning of school year" he announced.

Cassie was nervously playing with the hem of her skirt. She was feeling pretty good about her potion, thanks to Remus. But Snape's stupid smirk told her that maybe it wasn't as good as his. She turned to look at the back of the class where her friends were standing. Remus was giving her an encouraging smile, but James and Sirius were giving her that evil smirk that she knew all too well. She just wanted to know what they were up to this time but it was probably best if she didn't.

"So, Miss Black, Mr. Snape… are you ready?" he asked looking back at them.

"Yes, Professor" Snape said in his monotonous tone as Cassie nodded smiling at Professor Slughorn.

"Very well, so you do know that for me to guarantee the potion is perfectly done, it needs to be tried" he explained.

Cassie felt her heart stop for a little. He hadn't said anything about that. She knew exactly what Veritaserum did to people and she didn't want to reveal anything in front of the entire class.

"Tried, Professor?" she asked a little nervous.

"Why of course, Miss Black. Both you and Mr. Snape will drink the potion, and to make sure it works, the person in this room who knows you the most will ask a few questions so we know it's working" he explained.

"Do we get to pick them?" Snape asked getting just as nervous as Cassie.

"I already took the liberty to pick for you and if I'm not mistaken, my selections are perfectly chosen" he told them and both teens looked at each other nervously but trying not to show it.

"Alright" Cassie said quietly.

"Mr. Snape, you'll be questioned by Miss Evans" he announced. Cassie saw Snape relax as Lily made her way to stand next to him.

"Hi" Lily said smiling up at him and he smiled back at her.

"And Miss Black" he said turning to her. "You will be questioned by your brother, Mr. Black, of course" he announced.

"Great" Cassie got even more nervous. Yes, it was an obvious choice that Sirius knew her better than anyone else, but that only meant he even knew her deepest and darkest secrets. Like that she's afraid of the dark, for example.

"Hey sis" Sirius said standing next to her. "Don't worry, I won't ask anything embarrassing, promise. We wouldn't want anyone to know about your problem with the dark" he smirking.

"Shut up" she smiled gratefully at him.

"Alright then, ladies first" he said walking over to Cassie's cauldron. "Miss Black, if you don't mind" he said to the girl who nodded and opened it. "Merlin's Beard, Miss Black! This looks marvelous!" he said happily looking at the cauldron.

"Really?" she asked getting excited and Sirius winked at her. She could see Lily smiling at her too but Snape was close to having smoke coming out of his ears.

"Yes, really! It's brewed perfectly!" Professor Slughorn said excitedly. "Now it just needs to be tried to make sure" he told her.

"Oh, right" Cassie nodded and was about to reach in her cauldron when Professor Slughorn stopped her.

"Oh, no, my dear girl" he said kindly. "You're trying _each other's_ potion."

Cassie widened her eyes shocked. She had to taste Snape's potion. She started feeling the nervousness again until she saw that Snape's face was even paler than it usually was. "Uh-"

"So, Mr. Snape, if you'd be so kind" he said addressing him and ignoring the nervousness on the teens.

Snape walked over to Cassie's side of the table. He glared at the Black twins as he took the potion and poured three drops into a glass of water. He took a sip and made his way back to where Lily was standing.

"Miss Evans?" Professor Slughorn said kindly. Lily nodded and turned to look at Snape.

"Right, uh when's your birthday?" Lily asked.

"January 9th, 1960" he replied without any emotion.

"Where did you grow up?"

"I grew up at Spinner's End, a suburb of Cokeworth"

"What's your favorite subject?"

"Potions."

"Teacher's pet" James sneezed in the back of the class making everyone turn to look at him. "Sorry, I think I'm coming up with something" he said smirking. Remus, Sirius, and Cassie were trying to hide their smiles.

"Mr. Potter!"

"At what age did you discover you were a wizard?"

"When I was seven" Snape replied.

Lily kept on asking a few questions like his favorite book, something about muggles that not everyone understood, and Snape would answer them immediately.

"That's boring! Ask him something like… what color are his knickers?" James yelled suddenly.

"They're green" Snape answered before he could stop himself before clasping his hands to his mouth as he heard small laughs along the class.

"Mr. Potter!" Professor Slughorn. "Ten points from Gryffindor! I specifically said that Miss Evans was the only one allowed to question Mr. Snape!"

"It was worth it" James whispered to Remus who was trying not to laugh.

"I think we've heard enough to conclude that the potion works" he said looking at Cassie who was smiling excitedly. "Here Mr. Snape, drink this to stop the effect" he said handing him a cup. "Now, we move to the next one!"

"If you ask me what color my underwear is, I swear Regulus would be the only one that's going to be able to carry on the Black family name" she threatened Sirius smiling sweetly at the end. Sirius nodded rapidly a bit scared of his sister.

"So, Mr. Snape" he said turning to the other student who's cheeks were almost as red as Lily's hair. "Would you be so kind to open your cauldron?" Snape did as he was told and revealed his potion. It looked much like Cassie's but Professor Slughorn took a closer look. "Hmm" he said unconvinced.

"Professor?" Snape said confused.

"This is Bubble Juice" he informed him.

"What?" Lily asked confused.

"What?" Cassie asked excitedly.

"WHAT?" Snape asked furiously and looking at his cauldron.

"Yes, it bears a remarkable resemblance to the Veritaserum but until you add the Jobberknoll feathers, is pretty much useless" he explained. "Did you not have enough time to finish it?"

"I did! I did finish it! And it was perfect!" he said not understanding why his perfect potion had been turned into Bubble Juice. "It was better than hers!" he snapped pointing at Cassie. "HER!" he yelled fuming. "SHE did something to it! They did something to it!" he said pointing at the twins.

"What? That's ridiculous!" Cassie and Sirius said offended at the same time.

"Severus" Lily said trying to calm him down. "I don't think that they-"

"You don't believe me?" he asked furious turning back to Lily.

"I didn't say that I just don't think that Cassie would-"

"Of course she would! Is what she does!" he said walking over to Cassie but Sirius stepped in front of her.

"I would watch my mouth if I were you" he threatened him.

"You can't hide behind your brother forever!"

"Mr. Snape, I am sorry that you didn't finish your potion in time, but that is no excuse for you to accuse Mr. and Miss Black of something they didn't do" Professor Slughorn said getting a little upset at the Slytherin's behavior.

"Ask her then! Use her potion on her and ask her if she did something to my potion!"

"I did nothing to your stupid Bubble Juice!" Cassie snapped back at him.

"It wasn't Bubble Juice!"

"Sure looks like it" Sirius said smirking.

"I wonder if your answer would still be the same if you drink this" he said pointing at her cauldron. Cassie glared at him even more.

"Fine" Cassie said shrugging her shoulders.

"Miss Black, you really don't have to-" Professor Slughorn started.

"Oh no Professor, please allow me" she said grabbing the cup of water and pouring three drops of her potion in it.

"Cassie" Sirius and Lily said at the same time but she didn't listen to them.

"Cheers to you, _Severus_ " she said smirking at him before she drank the potion. She felt a tingling sensation in her throat as she finished and turned to look at the class.

She saw James smirking at her just like Sirius was and she saw a shocked expression on Remus. Maybe she didn't think this through. She knew exactly what those smirks meant.

"Miss Black" Professor Slughorn said turning the attention back to him. "Did you in any way interfered with Mr. Snape's potion in order to win the contest?"

"No, _I_ did not do anything to Severus Snape's potion" she replied.

"Very well-"

"She's lying!" Snape yelled.

"How could she be lying? She drank Veritaserum!" Remus snapped at him. "You know, one that was fully brewed" he said smirking at Snape who was throwing daggers at him. Cassie felt her cheeks burning a little. It was very rare to see Remus smirking.

"Well then her brother did it!" Snape tried again.

"Please, I could care less about your stupid Bubble Juice-"

"Is NOT Bubble Juice!"

"That is quite enough Mr. Snape" Professor Slughorn said getting angry. "I don't believe it is anyone's fault other than yourself that you did not finish the potion in time-"

"But I did! I did finish it in time!"

"Well, your cauldron says otherwise. If you do not want me removing any points from the Slytherin house, I suggest you stop talking" he told him. Snape glared at Cassie and Sirius, who had identical grins on their faces before he stormed out of the classroom. Cassie notices Sirius' wand was directed at Snape after he left the class but she was interrupted when Professor Slughorn turned back to her. "Congratulations, Miss Black!"

"I won?" she asked excitedly.

"You won" Professor Slughorn said happily extending his hand so she would shake it but Cassie was so excited she threw herself at him hugging him and giggling.

"Thank you!"

The old man was surprised but smiled and returned the hug gently as the rest of the class cheered for her. Well, the Gryffindors at least.

"Thank yourself, you brewed a marvelous potion" he told her as she let go. She looked around the class and Remus winked at her. If her cheeks were red before, now they matched Lily's hair too. "Now we'll be discussing your prize at the end of the class" he told her as she let go. "Now everyone, take your seats, we have a lesson to begin" he told the rest of them.

Cassie ran over to Sirius and jumped excitedly in his arms as he spun her around happily. "I won Siri!"

"Congratulations, sis" he said putting her down and kissing her head. "I knew you had it in you" he said messing her hair.

"Congratulations Cassie" Lily said coming towards them. "I'm sorry about Severus, I know he can be a sore loser, but-"

"Don't worry about it, Lils" she said smiling. "Thanks!"

"We better go find our seats" she said heading back to find her place next to Marlene. Sirius and Cassie followed her finding their places next to Remus and James.

"Congratulations Cass!" James said excited messing her hair again.

"Thanks, Jamie" she said smiling. Remus turned around to congratulate her as well, but Professor Slughorn interrupted him saying it was time to start class.

"So, about what you and Siri did to Snape's potion" she whispered to James so only he could hear her.

"I do not know what you're talking about my sweet Cassie" he said smirking at her.

"Right, I'd know that smirk anywhere" she replied. "Sometimes I wonder if you're not Sirius' twin instead of me" she told him.

"Oh please, I'm much more handsome than he is" he said pretending to be offended and Cassie laughed a little.

"Of course you are" she said rolling her eyes.

"So, did you tell her?" Sirius said turning around while Remus got up to get the ingredients.

"Tell me what? How you ruined Snape's potion?"

"Pfft no, that was really easy. We simply had Wormtail to cause a disturbance outside so he would go see what was going on, you know, since he's always sticking his large nose in other people's business, and when he did, we came in and replaced it with Bubble Juice from Sluggy's office" Sirius explained to her.

"Not that we didn't think you were going to win but, you know, we just wanted to make sure" James said winking at her.

"How did you know about Bubble Juice?" she asked curiously.

"Moony told us all about it" he informed her and Cassie smiled. Even Remus had helped her win. And he was someone who never went against the rules. Granted maybe he didn't know what Sirius and James were going to do with it, but still. "But anyways, what I was going to tell you, before I was so rudely interrupted, was about our plan of the 'Double Date'" he said excitedly.

"The Double Date?"

"He came up with the name" James said rolling his eyes.

"Yes! Remember how you told me Marlene fancied Moony?" Sirius asked her and she felt her stomach drop a little.

"I told you I'm not sure about that, mate" James told him.

"Why not? Is a brilliant plan! I've already asked Olivia! She's friends with Marlene" he explained. "So, all we have to do is get Moony to ask Marlene-"

"But what if he doesn't want to go out with her?" James asked.

"He doesn't have to marry her! Just see that there are girls out there that like him" he told them. "Who knows, maybe she'll be good for him-"

"No, she's not!" Cassie blurted out all of the sudden. Sirius and James looked at her suspiciously. _Uh-oh. Bloody potion hasn't worn off._

"You don't think Marlene would be good for Moony?" James asked confused and intrigued at the same time.

"No! She doesn't even know him! He only wants to go out with him because _she thinks he's cute!_ " she said mocking Marlene's voice in the last part before snapping both her hands to her mouth.

Sirius was about to say something when Remus came back to his seat. "Um, Cassie, Professor Slughorn gave me this for you" he said handing her a glass of water. "He says it would stop the effect of the Veritaserum" he explained.

"Uh, thanks, Remmy" she said smiling up at him and grabbing the water as quickly as she could.

"Congratulations by the way" he said kissing her head before he sat back down. Both Sirius and James stared at her still confused.

"I'm going to go get our ingredients" she said getting up before they could say anything else.

"So, any particular reason you didn't like your brother's plan?" James asked Cassie in the middle of making Amortentia.

"No, I just think it's stupid" she said shrugging her shoulders but looking at the table in front of them to make sure neither Remus or Sirius were listening.

"Really? So it has nothing to do with the fact that you wouldn't like Marlene dating Moony?" Cassie felt her heart beating faster. Did James know something?

"Remus can date whoever he wants" she told him adding a few more ingredients to the cauldron.

"Are you sure about that?"

"What are you implying James?"

"Nothing, really" he said shrugging his shoulders. "Just that you were a bit jealous of-" James was stopped when a small explosion came out of their cauldron.

"Jealous?" Cassie said with soot all over her face. "I am not jealous!"

"And that's why our potion exploded?"

"Our potion exploded because you were supposed to stir _clockwise_ you idiot!" she said irritated.

"Oh" James simply said starting to stir the other way around. "So, you would be completely fine if Moony were to take Marlene out on a date?"

"Why are we still talking about this?" Cassie said frustrated.

"I don't know, maybe because while you were under the effects of Veritaserum, you weren't quite fond of the idea" James challenged her smirking when he saw her cheeks went red.

"Look, it doesn't matter what I think, because, either way, you and I both know that Sirius is going to get on with this plan and Remus is going to end up accepting and he's going to ask Marlene out on a date" she said not facing her tall friend.

James' smirk faded from his face when he noticed the sadness in her voice. He was only teasing her but she looked really upset. "Cassie-"

"What do you smell?" she suddenly said.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What do you smell?" she repeated pointing at the cauldron. "It's supposed to be done" she told him.

"Oh" James said realizing it and moving his head towards the potion. "Well, I smell treacle tart" he said beginning to smile. "The woody scent of broomstick handle-" Cassie laughed a little at that one. "And there's another smell" he informed her.

"What smell?"

"I don't wanna say" James said looking down embarrassed.

"Well, you have to because maybe, is stupid" she said smirking up at him and James rolled his eyes.

"I smell something flowery that I've smelled somewhere before" he said not really sure as to where. "Sort of like… Sweet Pea."

"Sweet Pea?"

"Yes!" he said excitedly. Cassie smiled softly at him. "What?"

"That's what Lily smells like" she told him seeing him turn red.

"R-really?" he stuttered a little.

Cassie nodded. "You really like her, don't you?"

"I'm crazy about her Cass" James admitted running a hand through his messy hair. "So… what do you smell?"

Cassie got closer to the potion and took the scent in. "I smell tulips" she said smiling. "And chocolate" she said with a small laugh.

"And?" James asked when he saw her laugh fall a little.

"I smell old books" she said with a sad smile.

"You smelled that on the first day of Potions too, didn't you?" he asked all of the sudden.

"Uh, I guess" she said getting nervous. "Why?"

"No reason" James said shrugging his shoulders. "Chocolate and old books… it just sort of… sounds like someone we know, don't you think?" he asked smirking at her before turning his sight to the desk in front of him. Cassie followed his eyes only to see Remus Lupin sitting right in front of her.

* * *

At lunch, Cassie was hoping for a peaceful, quiet time, which is almost impossible to find on the Great Hall. Sirius and Peter came to sit across from her while James sat next to her.

"So, about the double date" Sirius started. "How do we get Moony on board?"

"Where's Remus?" Cassie asked annoyed.

"He had a Prefect meeting with my Lily flower" James responded.

"Ok, so, any suggestions?" Sirius said getting them back on subject.

"I don't get it, why don't you just tell him that Marlene wants to ask him out?" Peter said all of the sudden, earning a dirty look from Cassie and lowering his head.

"Because he won't believe us" Sirius said as if it was obvious.

"Then why don't you just tell Marlene to ask him out?" James said, clearly not so interested in the subject.

"Because he's got to ask the girl out! Don't you see it? He's the only one of us that hasn't asked a girl out! Even Wormtail's done it" he said.

"Well, maybe he doesn't _want_ to ask any girl out! Don't you think you should let _him_ decide that?" Cassie snapped a little.

"Why are you so against this? This was _your_ idea!" Sirius said raising his voice too.

"No, it wasn't! I asked you a simple question that you could've answered with yes or no! And you went and did this stupid plan!"

"Is not stupid!"

"Yes, it is!"

Peter and James only watched the twins who were pretty much yelling at this point while they remained silent. They all knew better than to meddle in one of their famous twin fights.

"Well, excuse me for caring about my friend Moony and wanting him to go on a date for a change!"

"You're not doing this for Remus! You're doing this because you want to go out with Olivia and used this stupid double date as an excuse!"

"I did not!" Sirius said offended. James, Cassie and even Peter turned to look at him with arched eyebrows. "Ok, fine I may have wanted to ask Olivia out for a while now, but that's beside the point! Remus needs to go out on a date!"

"Why? Why is it so important that he goes out on a date, all of the sudden?"

"Why is it so important _to you_ that he doesn't?"

Cassie opened her mouth to reply but closed it again. What was she supposed to say? That she has feelings for her best friend? That she didn't want him to go out with one of her other best friends because then they might fall for each other? She couldn't say anything.

"Fine" she said finally giving up. If it wasn't Marlene, another girl would come along. If Remus was going to be with someone, might as well be with someone she liked. "Set the bloody thing up" she said in a moody tone and went back to playing with her food.

Sirius looked suspiciously at his sister and was about to say something when Remus decided to appear.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked sitting next to Cassie.

"Not much" Sirius said acting casually again. "Just talking about next weekend" he said smiling. "Hogsmeade weekend" he continued. "Do you have any plans?"

"Uh, no, not really" Remus answered.

"Wonderful" Sirius said with a smirk. "I have a proposition for you" he told him.

"What?"

"Well, I was thinking-"

"Shocker" he heard Cassie muttered and saw Sirius glaring at her.

"What do you think about going on a double date?"

"Are you asking me out?" Remus asked him making the other three teens laugh.

Sirius rolled his eyes and glared at his friends. "No, I asked Olivia out and she happened to have the brilliant idea of setting up her dear friend Marlene with one of my Marauder friends" he said.

"So, why does it have to be me? Why can't Prongs go?"

"Are you kidding? He's so obsessed with Lily he's starting to smell like her-"

"I am not!" James said while Cassie looked at him and smelled him. "I am not!"

"Little bit" she muttered.

"Well then, take Wormtail with you-"

"She doesn't like Wormtail" Sirius said getting frustrated.

"Nobody likes Wormtail" Remus heard Cassie say under her breath.

"See, my sweet Moony, our dear Marlene McKinnon has a crush on you" he said making Remus choke on his pumpkin juice.

Cassie lifted her face to see Remus reaction and saw a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"N-no, she doesn't" he said awkwardly.

"Yes, she does! She told Olivia, who told me and she also told Cassie" Sirius said with a smirk.

Remus turned to look at Cassie, who seemed very interested in her chicken. "She told you that?"

Cassie turned to look up from her food and saw the four boys looking at her. Sirius still had the smirk on his face. Peter was just waiting for an answer. Remus was looking confused at her. And James was looking at her almost… sorry?

"Um, uh" she said putting a strand of her hair behind her ear nervously. "She might-have um, mentioned something" she said looking back down.

"See?" Sirius said excitedly. "So, what do you say? Why don't you ask her out and then the four of us could go on a double date?"

Cassie felt her heart beating faster each second.

"Uh, I don't know-"

"Come on, Moony, is just one date" Sirius kept on pushing.

Remus turned to look at Cassie, who didn't dare look up from her food. And then back at Sirius. Cassie suddenly felt sick to her stomach and decided to stand up.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked confused.

"Away from you" she answered grabbing her stuff.

"But you haven't even touched your food" James complained looking at the full plate next to him.

"Well, maybe I'm not hungry anymore" she said grumpily before walking away from them.

"What's going on with her?" Remus asked worried looking at his three friends.

"I don't know, probably her time of the month" Sirius said shrugging his shoulders. "Honestly is easier to deal with _your_ time of the month, no offense" he said looking at Remus. "So, what do you say?"

"About what?"

"The double date!" Sirius said frustrated.

"Uh, I'll um-" Remus said awkwardly. "I'll think about it" he said to get Sirius off his case. He didn't really want to go on a double date with Sirius and his latest conquest, but he wasn't sure how to say no without revealing why. "Um, I'm gonna go if she's ok" he said getting up and walking out of the Great Hall before any of them could stop him.

"What do you think is going on with him?" Sirius asked confused.

"Beats me" James said casually. He wasn't going to be the one to tell his best friend that their other best friend was falling for his sister. And that he was pretty sure his sister was also interested in their werewolf friend.

"Mr. Black" Professor McGonagall's voice came to the scene. "My office, now" she commanded. Sirius shrugged his shoulders and winked at Peter and James.

"What? What did I do now?" Sirius asked confused.

"You know very well what you've done" Professor McGonagall said.

"Later, mates" he said before getting up and following Professor McGonagall.

"How much longer do we have to go through this, Mr. Black?" she asked once they were inside.

"Whatever are you referring to, Minnie?" he said with his charming smirk.

"Enough of that! I've told you not to call me by my first name" she said frustrated. "I found Severus Snape wondering the halls after your Potions class" she explained. "It appears someone dumped a… what do you kids call it?"

"A Dungbomb?"

"Precisely?" she said looking at him. "Why is it that you continue to torment poor Severus Snape?"

"Poor Severus Snape?" Sirius said with a chuckle. "I'll have you know that _poor Severus Snape_ almost killed _my_ sister at the Quidditch match!" he said getting angry.

"What do you mean?" Professor McGonagall said shocked.

"He charmed the Bludger to follow her around! He broke her arm! And she could've gotten worse! All because he was trying to scare her away from a competition in Potions which she obviously still won!"

"I see. Do you have proof of said accusation?" she asked him.

"Moony saw it!"

"Mr. Lupin saw him charming the Bludger?"

"He said he was mumbling something and looking towards the Bludger" Sirius defended. "I know I usually torment him just, you know because he exists, but he's messing with my sister, Professor" he said upset.

Professor McGonagall smiled a little knowing just how protective both Black brothers were over their sister.

"Nevertheless, that is not reason to dump… whatever it was that you dumped on him this morning" she said getting serious again. "Detention, Friday Mr. Black" she simply said.

"Of course, Professor. You look lovely today, by the way" he said with his charming smirk back on.

"Get out of my office" she said rolling her eyes.

"If you insist" he said getting up and walking out. He was making his way back to the Great Hall when…

"Black!"

Sirius jumped in his seat at the shrill voice. Lily stomped furiously towards him.

"May I help you, Evans?"

"Did you throw a Dungbomb at Severus this morning?"

"Why do you care?" he said with the smirk still on his face.

"He's my friend!"

"Is he?" Sirius asked her.

"Y-yes he is" she said not sure who she was trying to convince more.

"Really?" he asked her. "Because I heard you arguing after Potions" he informed her.

"What? You have no right to listen to our private conversations-"

"Oh, please it was barely private if you were both yelling in the middle of the hallway!" Sirius informed her.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Black" Lily said upset.

"Well, I heard you standing up for Cassie about the potion and asking him about the Bludger in the Quidditch match" he said.

"What's your point?" Lily asked irritated.

"Face it, Evans" Sirius said quietly. "He's been hanging around with some bad people. Some really bad people. Malfoy, Avery, Mulciber, Rosier…"

"I know" Lily said sadly. "But… he's still my friend!"

"Lily" he said exasperatedly. He had probably _never_ called her by her first name. "He's on his way to becoming a Death Eater. He tried to hurt Cassie-"

Lily flinched a little and cried at him. "You… you don't know that! He… he's just-"

"Just what?" Sirius said getting closer to her. "What excuse are you going to make up for him now?"

Lily opened her mouth several times, but only to close it back again. And that's how Sirius left her, standing in the middle of the hallway, all by herself.

"Hey Moony" he said running into the werewolf coming out of the Library.

"Do you have the map?" he asked worried. "I can't find Cassie anywhere!"

"Why do you want to find her? Because she's a ray of sunshine?" he asked sarcastically.

"She looked really upset" Remus told him and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I think James has it" he told him. "Let's go!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Cassie had been reading a book under a tree, but she wasn't really concentrating. She was stuck at the same page ever since she sat down trying to get everything _and everyone_ out of her mind. She could not believe what she was about to admit to herself. James was right. James Potter was right. She was jealous. She did not want to hear Remus agreeing to go on a date with Marlene. She would feel pains in her stomach whenever that subject came along. She was pretty sure that she had feelings for Remus. Ok, she was certain she had feelings for Remus. But what was she going to do about it? He was her best friend. He was Sirius' best friend. There was no way he would ever feel the same way about her. They had known each other for six years and she was pretty sure that he saw her just like James saw her. Like a sister. And she didn't think there was anything she could do about it.

"Well, isn't this a pretty sight" she heard an unpleasant, yet familiar voice. She looked up from her book to find Snape walking towards her. She noticed that Malfoy, Avery, and Scabior weren't too far from him sitting by another tree.

"Wow, look at that" Cassie said with a smirk. "Snivelly found himself some bodyguards" she mocked him.

"Knock it off, Black" he said fuming. "You know what I'm here for!"

Cassie rolled her eyes, picked her stuff and got up. "Well, you know, I'm not taking Divination this year but I'm gonna go with, um, you have to prove to your friends something because you're embarrassed that you got beaten by a girl?"

"You did not beat me! You cheated!"

"You keep telling yourself that? That's nice Snivelly, I bet you also tell yourself how handsome you are every morning. Is your choice if you wanna live up on lies and not face reality-"

"Drop the act, Black! I'm giving you one last chance to admit what you did and go to Professor Slughorn and tell him what you did!"

"Whatever Snivellus, I'm not in the mood for this, can't we do it later?" she asked faking a smile and trying to walk past him but Snape grabbed her arm and pushed her back.

"You're not going anywhere until you admit what you did to my potion" he said furiously.

"Oh Merlin! Has the grease in your hair reached your ears? I did NOT do anything to your stupid Bubble Juice!"

"It was not Bubble Juice! I have been studying potions since before you could even spell it! I could've done the Veritaserum potion in my sleep and still beat you!"

"Well, it looks like you couldn't have" she told him. "Otherwise, why am I the one who won the contest while you ran out of the class crying like a little girl-"

"You know, you have a big mouth for someone so small" he said waking towards her. Cassie started walking backwards a little edgy but got a hold of her wand. "Somebody should really just… shut it" he threatened.

"You don't scare me Snivellus" she said trying to sound normal.

"You don't seem very sure about that" he asked smirking at her. "Pathetic Gryffindor" he said laughing. Cassie drew out her wand and was about to hex him, but Snape was faster. He aimed his wand at Cassie and yelled "Langlock!"

Cassie clutched at her throat, gulped, and tried to scream, only to find her tongue had just glued itself to the roof of her mouth.

"See, isn't that better? Without that annoying noise coming out of your arrogant mouth?" he smirked evilly at her. Cassie felt her knees shake a little when she saw he pointed his wand at her neck. "So, shall I repeat our last spell? You know, now that you're wearing a skirt" he said smiling and Cassie felt her heart dropping. "I bet the audience will appreciate the view" he said looking at his friends not so far and the rest of the people that were there. "Levi-"

"Expelliarmus!" Cassie opened her eyes to see Snape's wand flying out of his hand and into Remus' left hand.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Snivellus?" Sirius asked standing next to Remus. They were both as furious as Snape had been a few moments ago. If looks could kill, Snape would've been buried by now.

"Why of course, the two little demons can't stay far from each other for long" he said arrogantly looking at the two Marauders walking towards them.

Remus made his way over to Cassie and noticed how scared she was. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. Cassie could only nod and pointed at her throat so he could understand that she wasn't able to talk since her tongue was still glued to her mouth. She then buried her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. She felt safe only when Remus hugged her in his arms. "What did you do to her?" he asked furiously turning back at Snape.

"I did us all a favor and silenced her" he answered as if it was nothing.

"I warned you next time I wouldn't be so nice" Sirius yelled at him.

"I'd like to see you try, Black" Snape said smirking, not noticing James and Peter walking up behind him.

"Levicorpus" came out of James' mouth, wand directed at Snape.

Snape felt being pulled up by his ankle. Not only that, but he felt his pants dropping to his knees.

"Hey look" James said laughing as a small crowd began to circle them. "His knickers really _are_ green" he mocked as everyone started laughing.

"Why of course! He wasn't lying. Cassie's potion was PERFECT!" Sirius mocked him. "Say, Prongs, why do you reckon Snivelly's potion didn't work?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because his nose touched the cauldron, and he got grease marks on it" he said laughing.

"Put me down!" Snape yelled back at them.

"Sorry, what? Didn't quite catch that" Sirius yelled.

"Put them down? Oh, you want me to put down your knickers too?"

"Leave him ALONE! " Lily said furious coming into the scene. "What has he done to you?"

"To us? Look what he did to Cassie" Sirius said pointing at his mute sister.

"And there's also the fact that he exists" James told her.

"Put him down, James Potter! NOW!"

"Go out with me, Evans" James said taking advantage of the situation. "Go out with me, and I'll never lay my wand on Snivellus again!"

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the Giant Squid!"

"Alright, then" James said returning to the floating teen in the air. Lily grabbed her wand and pointed it towards James.

"Put him down" she threatened again. "Now!"

"Fine" James shrugged his shoulders and put away his wand, causing Snape to fall down with a loud thud on the ground. Lily walked over to Snape but saw him glaring at her too. He quickly pulled up his pants as he tried to stand up.

"Severus-" she tried to help him up.

"I don't want your help!" he snapped at her. "You filthy mudblood!"

Lily felt her heart stopping. She didn't know what had gotten into Snape. And then she saw it. He was looking at his new friends that were getting closer. And even if she saw the regret in his eyes, she felt the gulp in her throat and her eyes starting to water. She ran off to the castle with Marlene and Alice running behind her, but Cassie made her way to Snape and before he could realize what was happening, he felt a fist connecting to his jaw, making him fall back on the ground again. She mumbled something to him, which he couldn't understand since her tongue was still attached to the roof of her mouth.

"What?" he asked annoyed.

"She said you're a bloody bastard and she hopes you rot in hell" Sirius said furiously at him. Everyone turned to look confused at the Black brother. "What? She's my twin" he commented.

"Come on, let's take you to Madame Pomfrey" Remus said taking Cassie into his arms again.

"You better keep her silenced if you don't want her to get hurt" Snape said smirking at Remus. Malfoy, Avery, and Scabior were now standing next to him.

Cassie saw the three boys were about to draw out their wands but she stopped them. They all turned to look at her and she just shook her head with pleading eyes. James and Sirius kept on glaring at the other boys but put their wands down. But Remus made his way towards Snape, wand still in hand.

"If you _ever_ lay your hands or your wand on Cassie again, is _me_ you're up against next, got it?" he said hostilely before walking back to Cassie, taking he hand and leading her to the castle.

"Are you sure she can't stay this way? I think I like her better like thi- OW!" Cassie smiled sweetly at Sirius after smacking the back of his head. "It was a joke!"

* * *

"Lily! Please open the door!" Cassie tried for about the fifteenth time.

After Madame Pomfrey had fixed her mouth the group made their way to the Common Room. Marlene and Alice told Cassie that Lily had locked herself in the bathroom the entire afternoon and wasn't letting anyone in. She hadn't even come down to dinner.

"Just go away!" Lily answered again. Cassie sighted and made her way back to the Common Room where the rest of the group was.

"She's not coming out" she said walking over to them and sitting down next to Remus, who put his arm protectively around her.

"I can't believe he said that!" Marlene said sadly. They all hated Snape, but he was still Lily's best friend and he just insulted her in front of the entire school.

"What's so hard to believe? That guy is a bloody idiot!" James said fuming.

"Well, yes, he is but he had never been mean to Lily" Alice pointed out.

"Yeah but look at his new friends" Sirius said. "It was bound to happen if he kept getting together with Death Eaters!"

"Yeah, Sirius has a point" Frank added.

"But still, is as if… well, as if James or Remus insulted Cassie" Marlene told them.

"They'd be dead" Sirius joked.

"But that's the difference. We would never do that to Cassie" Remus pointed out. "Maybe Snape was never really Lily's friend" he said.

"I guess you're right" Alice said sadly. "Well, we might as well try one last time before we go to sleep" she said getting up.

"I'll come with you" Marlene said getting up as well. "Good night guys" they waved at them before walking to their dorm. Everyone responded and they all started to leave too.

"Well, I'm off to bed too" James said being the last one to stand up. Leaving Remus and Cassie alone in the Common Room. "Don't stay up to late" he said winking at both of them and making them blush at the same time. "Wow, I'm getting good at this" he muttered to himself as he made his way up to his dorm leaving the other two sitting in front of the fireplace.

"Aren't you going to go up to bed?" Cassie asked Remus. Not that she wanted him to leave, but he looked a bit tired.

"And leave you here all alone?" he said with a small smile. "I don't think so" he told her getting back on his spot. Almost naturally, Cassie leaned back and rested her head on his shoulder while he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Who says I'm not going up to bed?"

"Is that why you're resting on my shoulder instead of going up to your dorm?"

"Well, don't you _really_ know it all" she said with a small smirk.

"I try" he said kissing her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" she said sadly.

"Cassie" he said in an obvious tone.

"Honestly, I'm fine" she tried again.

"You know I don't believe that, right?"

"I know" she sighted unhappily.

"Here" he said grabbing some chocolate from his pocket and handing it to her. She smiled sweetly at him and grabbed it.

"Thanks" she said taking a bite.

Neither of them said anything else for a while. It didn't matter. They just wanted to be there next to each other. But neither of them wanted to say it out loud.

"Do you think he meant it?" Cassie asked all of the sudden. Remus frowned his eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Snape" she said turning to look back at him. "When he said I might get hurt" and then Remus saw it.

She was scared. It was rare that Cassie would be afraid of something, let alone _someone_. The girl would always seem so confident and bold. She would never get intimidated by anyone. But from time to time, she would get scared of worried about something. And if she was scared, she had a reason. Remus reached out to place a hand gently on her cheek. Cassie smiled a little as she leaned into his touch.

"Do you trust me?" Remus asked looking directly into her eyes.

"What? What kind of question is that? Of course, I trust you" she said confused. She trusted him with her life.

"Then trust me when I tell you that I would _never_ let anything bad happen to you" he said stroking his thumb against her cheek. "I promise" he whispered making her smile.

"Thank you" she said resting her head on his chest again and Remus placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"So" he said grabbing his wand and pointing it towards his dorm before Cassie saw her favorite book flying out from it. "Beauty and the Beast?"

She smiled brightly up at him and nodded gratefully. "Sounds wonderful" she said snuggling back against him.

Remus opened the book in her favorite story and began. " _Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle…_ "

* * *

 **A/N: aaand another chapter done! :D hope you guys liked it! :) as always, if you have any suggestions or ideas they're always welcome and, of course, so are your reviews! ;) so please let me know what you think! thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	6. Drunk

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hey... it's me again! plain, you see again... please can I see you every day? (sorry got into a little Cheap Trick mood... might use that song another chapter) first off, as usual, I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys rock! and a special thanks to imketys for your amazing review and Theharrypotteraddict for your message! so here's chapter 6 hope you guys like it! enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _Should I? Should I?  
Maybe I'll get drunk again  
I'll be drunk again, I'll be drunk again  
To feel a little love  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"Finally! I thought that class would never end!" Sirius complained as the group of friends made their way out of the Green Houses. "Honestly, the only good thing was that we were still allowed to swear loudly if the Venomous Tentacula seized unexpectedly from behind!"

"I told you that if you stopped bothering it, it would've stopped bothering you" Cassie told him rolling her eyes.

"You're bothering me" Sirius said messing her hair.

"You're bothering _me_ " she replied hitting his arm playfully.

"You're _both_ bothering me. Could you hurry up? We're going to be late for Transfiguration" Lily said irritated before she walked past the twins and sped up.

"Wow, she's a ray of sunshine today" Sirius said with an arched eyebrow.

"How is she doing?" Frank asked.

A few days had passed since the whole 'Snape incident' and Lily had been grumpier than ever. Most of the time she would avoid everyone, but sometimes she just had to deal with them.

"Same" Alice said sadly.

"She's not sleeping and not eating properly" Marlene added.

"Why is she still moping about that git?" James said irritated.

"He was her best friend for about eight years!" Alice defended Lily.

"Yeah, she doesn't even talk when we do our rounds anymore" Remus added. "I'm starting to get worried" he told them.

"Look, she's upset. She needs to deal with this in her own way. All that we can do is being there for her when she's ready" Cassie said sadly.

"I guess you're right" Alice said as they entered the castle.

"Um, Remus?" Marlene suddenly said. All of the group of friends turned to look at her.

"Yes?"

"Uh, could I talk to you for a moment? I have a… question I need to ask you" she said nervously. "A-about transfiguration" she added.

"Oh, sure" Remus said politely. Marlene's smile got even bigger as she dragged him away from the group. Cassie felt her heart dropping all of the sudden.

"What was that about?" Peter was the first one to ask.

"That, my friends, is how you put a plan in motion" Sirius said smirking proudly.

"What are you talking about?" Frank asked confused.

"I told Marlene to ask Remus out since he's too afraid to do it" he said shrugging his shoulders.

"You did WHAT?" Cassie asked trying not to sound so annoyed.

"Well, you know Remus" Sirius explained. "He wasn't going to ask her out but I knew that if she asked him out he wouldn't say no" he told her.

"Why is this so important to you?" Cassie asked wanting to kill her brother.

"Because I care about my friend" Sirius said and Cassie glared at him. "Alright, Olivia said she wouldn't go if Marlene and Remus wouldn't come" he said rolling his eyes. " _But_ I do care about him. He deserves a date" he said.

"I guess that's true" Peter added earning a glare from Cassie too.

"They would make a good couple" Frank added.

Cassie decided it was best if she kept her mouth closed before she said something she'd regret. She saw James giving her a sad look but she ignored it. She saw Marlene and Remus not too far away from them. Marlene's smile was bigger and Remus was smiling back at her. And that's all she needed to know. He had said yes. They were going to go out on a date. And that was it.

"Cassie?" James snapped her out of her thoughts. Cassie smiled sadly up at him.

"Yeah?" she asked noticing the others had already left.

"We're going to be late for Transfiguration" he said knowing that she wasn't going to talk about what was going through her head now.

"Right" she said sadly as she followed him.

When they reached their classroom, Cassie sat down next to James and saved the other seat for Remus, who was surprisingly late. Luckily for him and Marlene (who's smile was so big Cassie thought it was a little creepy), Professor McGonagall was running a little late too.

"Hey" he said smiling at her and taking his seat. Cassie simply nodded acknowledging his presence. He was about to ask her if she was ok when Sirius turned around to face his friends.

"So, mate, anything you'd like to tell us?" he said smirking.

"What?" Remus asked a little nervous.

"What did Marlene want?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Oh, um to ask me something about Transfigura-"

"Come on, Moony. Like we're going to buy that" Sirius pushed his friend further.

"Um" Remus said feeling uncomfortable. He looked at Cassie by his side who was completely ignoring him. "She uh- sort of… asked me out" he told them.

"I knew it!" Sirius said punching his arm. "That's my mate!"

"What did you say?" James asked all of the sudden.

Remus looked at Cassie again. She was trying too hard to stay calmed. She had her eyes spotted on the front, trying her best not to look at Remus.

"I um… I didn't want to hurt her feelings" Remus explained.

"So, you said yes?" Peter asked him.

"Yes" Remus blurted out. Before the four boys knew what was happening, Peter's parchment had burst into flames.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius said getting away from it. Remus quickly cast a spell putting out the fire.

"What happened?" he asked confused.

"I have no idea" Peter said scared looking at the parchment.

"Uh, sorry, my bad" James said a little too quickly. "My wand must've gone crazy" he said with a little laugh.

The other three let it go, since it wasn't unusual for James to be careless with his wand but James knew that the witch was oddly bright at casting spells with her mind depending on her emotions. When the other three Marauders returned to their conversation, James leaned towards Cassie.

"Be careful, next time you might burst Peter into flames" he whispered in her ear.

Cassie turned to look up at him nervously. She didn't have an opportunity to answer back since Professor McGonagall came into the classroom and started her lesson.

* * *

Cassie avoided everyone for the rest of the day, especially Remus. The word about him and Marlene going to Hogsmeade together spread around quickly. She didn't like feeling like this. She just needed to clear her mind. She couldn't go to the Library, Remus was there. She couldn't go to the Common Room, Sirius, James and Peter were probably there. And she couldn't go to her dorm, Marlene was there. So she grabbed her broom and made her way to the Quidditch Pitch.

After about an hour or two of simply flying and forgetting about everything she decided to land back down.

"Hey!"

Cassie jumped with a small shriek before she turned around and glared at her little brother. "Regulus! You scared me!"

"I know" he said with a small laugh. "I saw you up there and thought it might be funny to scare you" he told her.

"You're not funny" she said sitting on the grass and laying on her back, looking up at the sky.

"I happen to think that I'm quite comical" he said sitting down next to her.

"Who told you that? Mother?"

"Hey! No need to be so mean about it" he said pretending to be offended.

"Sorry" she apologized. "I'm just in a bad mood" she said and he nodded. They stayed quiet for a while before Regulus spoke again.

"So, no Marauders?"

"Nope. No Marauders" she said looking away.

"Where are they?"

"James is off somewhere trying to convince Lily to go out with him, I could care less about where Peter is, Sirius is probably in detention and Remus is asking Marlene out on a date" she said sounding a little bitter at the end.

"Right, I heard about that" he said quietly. "How are you doing?"

She arched an eyebrow looking up at him. "About what?"

"About that" Regulus said in an obvious tone.

"I'm fine" she told him running a hand through her long hair.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes?"

"You are so not fine" he said with a little laugh. Cassie let out a frustrated sight.

"You know, hooking up with the other half of girls in school that haven't been with Sirius does not technically make you a relationship expert" she told him.

"How do you know about that?" he asked confused. It wasn't a lie; he had his fair share of girls, mostly in Slytherin. He just didn't brag about it like Sirius did.

"Word gets around" she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, I may not be an expert in relationships, but I am an expert in you" he told her.

"No, you're not" she said with a small laugh while she sat up.

"Yes, I am" he insisted. "You raised me" he continued and she looked curious at him. "You're the voice in my head. Not mother. Not father. You."

"Really?" she said smiling again.

It was true. Their parents were always busy when they were kids and it was just the three of them most of the time. Cassie and Sirius would always take care of Regulus. Weather it was teaching him to fly his first boom or simple stuff like reading to him at night.

"Yeah" Regulus replied. "And sometimes I just wish you would shut the bloody hell up!" he said laughing and Cassie laugh a little too. "I just want you to know that it's ok to not be fine sometimes" he said kissing her head.

"I just…" she started. "I don't know how to feel about it" she admitted.

"Well, I'm here for you when you're not fine" he added.

"Thank you" she said resting her head on his shoulders.

"You're welcome" he replied. "So, why don't we head back to the castle? Is almost time for dinner" he said standing up.

"Uh, I think I'll skip dinner tonight" she said with a sad smile. She wasn't sure if she could face Remus yet.

"No, you won't" he said rolling his eyes. He kneeled back down and picked her broom with one arm and picked her up over his shoulder.

"REGULUS!" she yelled trying to be mad and taking Regulus' wand out of his back pocket. "This is not ok! I will pants you from up here! I have your wand!"

"Wow, you're getting heavy-" he joked.

"Shut up! You don't get to say I'm heavy! Have you no respect for your sister?"

"No more cookies for you!" he said laughing.

"Asshole!" she said laughing a little as they made their way back to the castle.

As they made their way to the Great Hall, Cassie spotted someone walking behind them and catching up with them.

"Cassie!" Remus said almost out of breath for running towards them. Regulus turned around to face the boy. "Regulus" he said nodding his head.

"Lupin" Regulus said a little unkind. He didn't like the fact that his sister was upset because of him.

"May I have a word with your sister?"

"That depends" he said. "What's it about?"

"Regulus! Put me down!" Remus heard Cassie yell. Regulus rolled his eyes and put his sister down.

"Alright, but I'm waiting for you over there" he announced before glaring at Remus and walking away.

Cassie stood there awkwardly waiting for Remus to say something. "Is everything ok?" was the first thing to come out of his mouth.

She looked up at her friend and felt her heart aching a little. "Yeah, why?"

"Don't lie to me Cassie" Remus said getting upset. "You've been avoiding me all day" he whispered sadly.

"No, I haven't" she said looking down. Remus placed his finger under her chin and lifted her head up.

"Why are you still lying to me?"

"Well, I just… I thought you'd be with Marlene" she said not looking at him.

Remus felt his heart stopping. He had honestly said yes to Marlene because he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Marlene was his friend, but he didn't like her that way. What he didn't understand was why Cassie was acting this way.

"I- um, n-no, I was just in the Library" he told her. "And I thought maybe you wanted to go down to dinner but… I couldn't find you."

"Yeah, I was with Regulus" she said smiling sadly. "And I said I'd eat dinner with him, uh sorry" she said sadly.

"Oh, that's ok" Remus said feeling a little hurt. "I'll see you later in the Common Room, then?"

"Sure" she said nodding rapidly.

"Cassie?" Remus asked making her face him again. "Are you sure everything is ok?"

"Yeah, everything is fine" Cassie tried to convince him with a small smile. "I'll see you later, alright?"

Remus knew everything wasn't fine but he decided to let it go for now. "Alright" he said kissing her head before he watched her walk away to her younger brother.

"So, how did that go?" Regulus asked her.

"How do you think?" she said bitterly before they made their way to the Great Hall.

* * *

"So, is this a better choice?" Marlene asked coming out of the bathroom for the fifth time. It was finally Saturday.

Cassie rolled around in her bed groaning. Marlene was so excited about her date with Remus it was everything she could talk about and she had begged Cassie and the girls to help her get ready. And the fact that Cassie had spent the past whole nights in the Kitchens, eating everything with chocolate on it, had nothing to do with any of this.

"Marlene, we've been here all morning" she said grumpily. "Just pick one already!"

"But it has to be the perfect outfit!" she complained.

"Marlene, Cassie is right" Lily said in the same cranky mood. She was slowly getting back to her old self, but she was still getting there. "You don't see Alice freaking out about her outfit, do you?"

"Well, that's different" Marlene protested. "We all know Frank already likes Alice" she pointed out, making Alice blush from her side of the dorm where she was finishing getting ready.

"Well, if Remus said yes to you I think it means he likes you too" Lily told her. Cassie ignored the grumbling in her stomach.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Marlene said smiling. "So, Cassie, what do you think?" she said walking over to the girl and spinning around so she could contemplate her outfit. "Do you think Remus would like it?"

Cassie tried to smile as sincere as she could. Marlene was wearing a sweet, white and yellow sunny dress. Her hair was down and wavy, thanks to Lily and she was wearing Alice's brown boots. Something Cassie would never wear. She did like dresses from time to time, but not this… girly. Then again, she couldn't help to think that maybe Remus liked this kind of stuff. Meaning, he would never like her.

"Yeah, I think he's going to like it" she said softly.

"Oh, thank you, Cass!" Marlene said excited and hugging her. "Well, I have to go! I have to meet Olivia and the boys in the Common Room" she said grabbing her purse before walking out of the door. "Wish me luck" she said winking back at them.

"Hold on, I'm gonna be late too" Alice said getting up and walking towards the door. "Bye girls!" she said excitedly.

"Have fun!" Lily yelled.

"Bye" Cassie said at the same time. "So, what are your plans for a lovely day like this?" she asked walking over to Lily's bed and sitting with her.

"Well, I was thinking about going to the Library and-"

"Come on, Lily" Cassie said annoyed. "It's a beautiful day outside!"

"I don't really want to be around people" she admitted.

"You mean, you don't want to be around Snape?" she asked a little nervous. They hadn't really talked about what went down. Lily looked sadly at her. "Have you talked to him, you know… ever since?"

"No" she admitted. "He's tried talking to me but…" she started getting sad over again. "What he said-"

"He was being a jerk Lils" Cassie tried to comfort her. "He was just trying to look like a big shot in front of his new friends-"

"But that's just it" Lily said starting to cry a little. "I don't like his new friends! They're bad people! I mean, look what he did to you! The Bludger thing and the hex he threw at you that day and then… I just… I thought I knew him" she said sadly. "And I knew it. People were telling me that he was changing but I just, I didn't want to face the fact that he was what everyone said" she finished sadly.

"People change Lils" Cassie told her. "I know it's hard but, it happens" she didn't really know what else to say to her. Snape had been her best friend her entire life. And in one day, he just threw everything out the window.

"I guess" Lily said sadly.

"You know what? You and I are going out today" she said smiling.

"What? No, Cassie, I told you I don't want to be around anyone-"

"Well, neither do I. But it's a beautiful day out there and for the first time, since the beginning of the year, we have no homework over a weekend! So we should take advantage of that!"

"I don't know" Lily said sitting up in her bed. Both girls were still in their pajamas.

"Come on Lils, it would get your mind off Snape and mine off-" she stopped abruptly before she spilled out Remus' name. "Off everything that's been going on! You know with Quidditch and school and Potions and all" she quickly covered up.

"I guess it would be nice" Lily started to convince herself.

"Yes! We could have a girl's day out! We could dress up in your muggle clothes and do our hair and walk around Hogsmeade and buy tons of candy and go to the bookstore and shopping and eat ice cream and take photographs with your machine that makes them stay still" she said pointing at Lily's camera on her nightstand "and drink Firewhisky-"

"Cassie!"

"Fine, Butterbeers" she said rolling her eyes a little. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

"Alright" Lily caved in with a small smiling forming in her face. She did need to get her mind of Snape.

"Great! Ok, so can I raid your trunk to find muggle clothes?"

"What is it with you and your brother being obsessed with muggle things?"

"Well, it started just to piss off our parents, but we actually do enjoy them" she said as she went through Lily's trunk. "Aha! This is cute" she said pulling out a pair of yellow shorts, a grey top, and Lily's favorite boots. "Here you go" she said handing them to her. "Now, hit the showers, Evans!"

Lily laughed a little at her friend before grabbing her stuff and making her way to the bathroom. After she got ready she waited for Cassie to come out of the bathroom. She laughed a little when she saw her coming out in her denim short jumper, a white shirt and Cassie's own black converse that Lily gave her last year for her birthday.

"Beautiful! Ready?"

"Ready" Lily said smiling. They grabbed their purses and walked out of the room with linked arms.

* * *

"So, where do you want to go first?" Cassie asked as they reached Hogsmeade. She glared a little at all the couples walking around them.

"Oh, how about Gladrags Wizardwear? They always have pretty stuff" Lily suggested.

"Great!" Cassie said excited making their way to the shop. "Uhh! These are cute" she said grabbing a couple of hats on the shelf. She grabbed a red one for herself, and a blue one for Lily.

"Cassie, I don't really wear hats" Lily told her.

"Why not? Hey look amazing on you" she said walking around the shop trying all kinds of accessories. They made their way back outside taking a picture of themselves with their new gats and sunglasses.

"I like it" Lily said smiling for the first time in days. "So, where to now?" Lily asked.

"Honeydukes!" Cassie said excited, dragging Lily to the sweet shop.

"You have a serious addiction to chocolate, did you know that?" Lily said laughing. Cassie ignored her and made her way inside the shop and straight to the rows of chocolate. "Cassie!"

"What?" the girl said with her mouth full of chocolate and carrying endless amounts of chocolate, creamy chunks of nougat, pink squares of coconut ice, fat toffees, Every Flavour Beans, Fizzing Whizzbees, black Pepper Imps, Peppermint creams and a lot of Sugar Quills.

"This is way too much!" she said laughing a little at her.

"Well, is for both of us!"

"It is still too much! This would be too much even for James, Sirius, Remus _and_ Peter to eat-"

"Huh, you underestimate them" Cassie said laughing as she paid for her exaggerated amount of candy. "Anyways is so we get in a better mood" she explained.

"How is that going to get us in a better mood?"

"It always works for me" she said grabbing the bags. Lily laughed at her friend as they made their way out of the shop.

"What's our next stop?"

"Tomes and Scrolls?" Cassie suggested. Lily agreed and the girls made their way to the bookshop.

When they were inside, Cassie felt a little bit of sadness spread around her. She would always come here with Remus. Mostly because he would drag her there, but she ended up liking the shop. She decided to get him off her mind but it was harder done than said.

"Hey, look! Hasn't Remus been looking for this book?" Lily asked grabbing a book called 'A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration'.

"Oh, yes" she said grabbing the book from Lily. "He's been looking for it everywhere. I think he was going to buy it from someone in Seventh Year" she said with a little laugh.

"Why would he want to read that? We don't use until next year" Lily said laughing.

"Beats me" Cassie said shrugging her shoulders. "The boy reads everything he can. Did you know he read 'Hogwarts, a History' during our first year?"

"Of course I know" Lily said rolling her eyes. "He tells me every fun-fact he knows when we're making our rounds" she told her with a small laugh.

"He does? I told him to stop doing that" Cassie said laughing too.

"Lily?" both girls turned around and stopped laughing when they saw who was standing behind them.

"Severus" Lily said trying to sound angrier and not so sad.

"Could we talk?" he asked pleadingly.

"She doesn't want to talk to you! You big nosed-"

"Cassie!" Lily stopped her. "It's alright" she said calmly.

"Are you sure?" she whispered walking towards her.

"I have to face him sooner or later" she told her. Cassie nodded and walked away from her but not before glaring at Snape.

Cassie decided to occupy herself looking for some books she could buy. She was really trying to get her mind off Remus and Marlene's date. It just bothered her. She knew why, she just wasn't ready to admit it to herself yet. As fine as she thought she was being with getting him out of her mind, she noticed she ended up in the Werewolves department. _Bloody brilliant, aren't you?_ She started looking for some books to see if they could help with her potion. Thankfully, Slughorn had said yes to try and brew the potion. He wasn't sure at first, but when they met with Professor Dumbledore, he thought it was a marvelous idea and very generous of her part. She looked around through some of the books on the section. 'Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don't Deserve to Live' by Emerett Picardy. _Ugh what an idiot._ She moved on to the next one. 'Hairy Snout, Human Heart' – Anonymous. She got that one out. Professor Dumbledore had mentioned it when they were talking about the potion. He said it was a 'heartrending' account of one wizard's struggle against lycanthropy. She decided to give it a try. After she paid for the books she decided to come back to Lily and Snape, since Lily seemed upset. She stood a little far from them but overheard the last of their conversation.

"I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just-"

"Slipped out? It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. You and your Death Eater friends! I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine" she heard Lily say.

"No-listen, I didn't mean-" Snape tried again.

"You call every one of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?" she said turning around and walking over to Cassie. "Can we leave?"

"Yeah, sure" she said nodding and they made their way out of the shop. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah" she said mad. "I could go for that Firewhisky now" she said half joking.

"Well, let's go to the Three Broomsticks then" Cassie said with a sad smile as they made their way to the pub.

Meanwhile, Sirius, Olivia, Remus and Marlene were enjoying their double date at the Three Broomsticks. Well, at least three of the four teenagers were. Remus' mind had been somewhere else throughout the entire day. It had been on a certain dark-haired witch.

"Remember that, Moony?" Sirius snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Right, yeah" he said quickly, not sure about what they were saying.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit… distracted" Marlene told him.

"Oh, n-no, sorry" he said smiling. He didn't want to be mean to her. "Just spaced out for a bit" he told her.

"So, what are you having?" she asked looking at the menu.

"I don't know, what are you having?" he asked her trying to focus on the menu. But he spotted the door of the pub opening and revealing two of his friends walking in.

"Oh, look! There's Marlene and Remus" Lily said pointing at a booth on the corner when they walked in. "With Sirius and Olivia!"

Cassie turned to look in the direction her friend was pointing and saw the four teenagers. She felt her heart ache a little when he saw that Remus was laughing at something. He was having fun.

"Hey, Cassie! Lily!" Marlene greeted them and motioned for them to come over.

"Let's go say hi" Lily said grabbing Cassie's arm and dragging her to the booth.

"Uh, I don't really want to interrupt-"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Lily said as they reached the table. "Hi guys" she said smiling at the four.

"Hi Lily, Cassie" Olivia greeted them.

"Evans, twinsie" Sirius said smirking. "Nice to see you in a decent mood for a change" he added.

"Don't tempt me, Black" Lily threatened, smirking at him.

"Hey girls" Remus said quietly and getting nervous for some reason.

"What have you guys been up to?" Marlene asked excitedly. "I love your new hats!"

"Thank you" Lily said smiling. "We've pretty much been everywhere, really. We went to Galdrags and Wizardwear, Honeydukes, the book shop" she told them all about it.

"Sounds like fun" Olivia said smiling.

"What about you guys? Having fun on your double date?" Lily asked teasing. Cassie was actually more interested in her shoes.

"Jealous, Evans?" Sirius winked at her. "Cause you know, I'm sure James could-"

"I was talking to my friends, Black" Lily answered smirking.

"Ouch, and here I was thinking I was your friend" he said pretending to be hurt.

"Well, we've had a lot of fun" Marlene said turning the attention to her. "We went to Honeydukes and Zonko's!"

"And later we're going to Madam Puttifoot's" Olivia added. Cassie felt her heart stop. _Madame Puttifoot's? That was the haunt of happy couples._ Remus and Sirius always made fun of it. Why on Earth were they going there?

"Well, that sounds lovely, but we wouldn't want to keep on interrupting your _date_ " she said glaring at little at Marlene and Remus for some reason. "Shall we Lily?"

"Uh, sure" she said smiling at her and then at the table. "See you later guys. Have fun!"

They made their way to a table not so far from them. "So…how about a Firewhisky?" Cassie asked Lily.

"Are you alright?" Lily said worriedly. Cassie was about to respond when she saw that Marlene had said something to the table making Remus laugh really loud. He was having fun. So she decided she wanted to have fun too.

"Perfect" she said glaring at them before she smiled at Lily.

* * *

Remus watched Cassie and Lily throughout the entire lunch. He felt sort of… guilty. He didn't really want to be in this double date but Marlene seemed so excited when she asked him, he couldn't let her down by saying no. But still, it felt wrong to be here with her. He was having fun, but he just felt like he'd rather be with someone else. Like the witch that was sitting a few tables over. And then she had just appeared out of nowhere, looking absolutely stunning in his opinion. That was what he loved about Cassie, she never fixed herself up so much like a lot of other girls, and she still managed to look beautiful just by being herself.

"Remus, did you hear what I said?" Marlene asked snapping Remus out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Remus asked confused.

"I was just asking if you'd like to share some dessert with me" she said smiling up at him. Remus didn't really want to. He had never liked sharing food, well desserts mainly. Except when it came to Cassie. He never knew why he had no problem sharing anything she wanted with her.

"Uh, sure whatever you'd like" he answered not taking his eyes away from the girls on the other table. Something was off about them but he couldn't quite know what.

The two friends on the other table were enjoying each other's company, especially on their third round of Firewhisky.

"And then, you know, he came over and said: _'I didn't mean to call you a Mudblood!_ '" Lily said mocking Snape's voice.

"Ugh, that bastard!" Cassie said slamming her third glass of Firewhisky on the table.

"I know! Can you believe it!? Almost nine years I was friends with the boy!" Lily complained. "I mean, he was the one who told me I was a witch! When my sister called me a freak, he explained what it was all about-"

"Wait, your sister called you a freak?"

"She still does! She dislikes everything that has to do with magic" Lily explained.

"Ugh, that bitch!" Cassie said repeating the slam with the glass.

"Right? Anyways, I am _not_ going to forgive him! I've spent too much energy trying to defend him in the past!"

"He doesn't deserve it! He's a git! He's a greasy git!" Cassie complained. "With an abnormally large nose!"

"I know! It just sucks that I lost my best friend" Lily said sadly. "I never thought he out of all people would ever say that to me" she told her.

"I know, but you deserve better friends!" Cassie told her.

"You know what? I _do_ deserve better friends!" she said grabbing her glass of Firewhisky. "Cheers to that!" she said as they clunked their glasses together. "Uh! I love this song!" Lily said listening to the song in the background.

"Huh, I know this song" Cassie said remembering when Lily had introduced her to it. They smiled at each other before they sang the next verse.

 _Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene  
I'm begging of you please don't take my man_

Cassie turned to look at the table not so far from them. She could swear Remus was looking at her but looked away when she saw him. She didn't like feeling like this. She knew what she was feeling. Jealous. She could feel it just by seeing at Marlene smiling up at Remus. She was jealous.

 _Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene  
Please don't take him just because you can_

"Did you just say 'Marlene'?" Lily asked snapping her out of her thoughts.

"What?" she asked looking at her red-haired friend.

"Right now. Did you just sing 'Marlene' instead of 'Jolene'?"

Cassie let out a nervous laugh. "No, why would I sing Marlene? That's stupid!" she covered it up. Lily simply thought maybe she had misheard her and shrugged it off.

"Hello, ladies" Augustus said walking over to the table.

"Hi Augustus" Lily said smiling up at him.

"Hi" Cassie said trying to be polite.

"And what are you lovely ladies doing alone on a lovely day like this?"

"We're having a girl's day" Lily said excited.

"Yes, no boys allowed" Cassie told him.

"Sorry" Lily apologized.

"Don't worry, I'm here with a bunch of my mates" he said pointing at a booth next to them. "Didn't mean to intrude just wanted to say hi" he told them. "You girls look lovely, by the way" he said winking at Cassie before walking away.

"Cassie" Cassie asked all of the sudden and Cassie turned to look at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure" she said confused.

"How come you don't go out with anyone?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, is just that… I've seen some guys taking some… interest in you" she told her.

"Like who?"

"Like Augustus" she told her nodding her head towards the booth. "You know he's also a Prefect, right? Well, when I don't do my rounds with Remus, I do them with him and he's always talking about you" she explained.

Cassie let out a loud snort. "Yeah, right!"

"He is" Lily insisted. "He was going to ask you out for this Hogsmeade weekend" she said.

"And why didn't he then?"

"Why do you think? You're always around Sirius or James or Remus" Lily said. "He was scared to ask you!"

"Oh, please. He was not scared to ask me" she said rolling her eyes.

"How would you know?"

"I just do" Cassie said a little frustrated. "Why don't you go out with James?"

"Because he's an arrogant git who only wants me because I said no and we both know he's just looking for one thing" Lily answered.

"Well, same goes for Augustus" Cassie told her.

"Augustus isn't like that" Lily argued.

"Oh and James is? Which one of us knows him better Lils?" Cassie asked her with a smirk.

"Um-" Lily had to give that one to her.

"You know what? This day was supposed to be fun! And since we ran into Snivellus and we came here" she said glaring at the booth in the corner. "Fun is gone, so why don't we make a pact? No more talking about boys for the rest of the day" Cassie suggested. "Let's go back to have fun! Boys are idiots! Life was a lot easier when I was five and I thought they had fleas" she said before ordering another round of Firewhisky.

"You're right. Boys are idiots. Did you really think they had fleas?" Lily said laughing.

"I grew up with Sirius and Regulus" she explained. "Have you seen them scratch their heads?"

Lily just laughed again before they made the deal of not talking about boys for the rest of the day.

Back in the other booth, Remus felt his blood boiling when he saw Augustus walking towards the girls' table but was a bit relived when he walked away. The four teens decided to go along to Madame Puttifoot's instead of having dessert there. But once again, he wasn't paying attention.

"So, ready to go?" Marlene asked him.

"Where?" he asked confused.

"Madame Puttifoot's silly" she said with a smile.

"Oh, right" Remus said clearing his throat. "Actually, do you mind if you and I catch up with them later?" he asked her and saw her smile getting bigger.

"Wow Moony, if you wanted to be alone, all you had to do was ask" Sirius said smirking at him. Remus smiled nervously. He didn't want to be alone with Marlene, he just didn't want to leave The Three Broomsticks just yet. "Shall we?" Sirius said offering his arm to Olivia who gladly took it.

"You kids have fun" she said smiling at the two.

"Uh, would you like another Butterbeer?" he asked Marlene once they were alone.

"Sure" she said smiling at him.

The two girls just kept the Firewhisky rounds coming forgetting about lunch.

"Yeah, he stayed up there for hours-" Cassie said between laughs. "Until my mother came home and was able to put him down" she said as Lily continued to laugh harder about the story of how Cassie had enchanted Sirius' broom when he had turned her hair pink.

"Your mother must've been furious" Lily managed to say.

"I was grounded for a week" Cassie admitted.

"Hello, ladies-" Bertram Aubrey tried to come towards them. He was the sixth boy from Augustus' booth that had tried talking to them. But he got the exact same answer all of the other boys did.

"No!" both girls said at the same time remaining true to their pact. Bertram simply sighted and walked away to his booth where the others laughed telling him that it was useless.

"You're right, life is better without boys" Lily said having their next Firewhisky.

"I told you" Cassie said smiling.

"Why do you only have guy friends, then?"

"I don't know" Cassie said. "Girls tend not to like me because Sirius and James usually date them and then dump them" she explained. "I think you, Alice and Marlene are the only ones that like me" she said smiling.

"Well, cheers to that" Lily said smiling again as they toasted once more giggling.

"Hey! I like this song!" Cassie said suddenly.

"I showed you this song!" Lily said proudly before they started to sing.

 _Hey kids, shake it loose together  
The spotlight's hitting something  
That's been known to change the weather  
We'll kill the fatted calf tonight  
So stick around_

Lily and Cassie started singing along and laughing from time to time. Yes, they were both a little drunk… or maybe really drunk.

 _You're gonna hear electric music  
Solid walls of sound  
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet  
But they're so spaced out,  
Bennie and the Jets_

As they kept on singing, they started getting the attention of a few people that were in the pub. Specifically the booth next to them, who started cheering for the girls.

 _Oh but they're weird and they're wonderfulOh Bennie she's really keenShe's got electric boots a mohair suitYou know I read it in a magazineBennie and the Jets_

Lily and Cassie sang with their glasses on their hands while they stood up and began dancing.

"Let's go, Evans!" Cassie encouraged her.

"What? Cassie, no" Lily said laughing.

"Come on, Evans! Have a little fun sometime" she begged her.

"I am fun!" Lily said offended.

"Yeah? Prove it" Cassie said smirking.

 _Hey kids, plug into the faithless  
Maybe they're blinded  
But Bennie makes them ageless  
We shall survive, let us take ourselves along  
Where we fight our parents out in the streets  
To find who's right and who's wrong_

Lily stood up with Cassie and they started dancing, but that wasn't enough for the girls, they quickly stepped on the chairs to get up on their table. Suddenly, a small crowd, including the group of boys, was surrounding the table and started singing with them.

 _Oh, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet  
But they're so spaced out,  
Bennie and the Jets  
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful  
Oh Bennie she's really keen_

At that moment, James Potter decided to walk inside the pub with his friend Peter Pettigrew. When he noticed the crowd around the table, they made their way over to see what the fuzz was about not really expecting to find what they did.

"Ey Potter, Pettigrew! You guys are just in time!" Augustus said smirking at them.

"In time for what?" James asked confused before he realized what he was talking about.

 _She's got electric boots a mohair suit  
You know I read it in a magazine  
Bennie and the Jets_

"And then I told Sirius that-"

"Merlin! Look at that" Marlene said interrupting Remus and pointing at the table. Remus turned around and saw Cassie and Lily on top of their table dancing to the music.

"Cassie?" he said getting a little upset.

"I wonder what's gotten into them" she said laughing a little.

"Something isn't right" Remus muttered to himself getting up and walking over to the table. Marlene quickly followed him.

"Lily?" James asked shocked when he reached the table and not liking the look on some boys surrounding the girls. "Cassie!" But the girls completely ignored him and just kept on dancing as Remus reached the scene too. "Moony! What the bloody hell is going on here?"

"I have no idea! They were fine just a moment ago!" Remus told him. "I was with Marlene-"

"This is bloody amazing!" they heard Bertram yell. Remus felt his blood boiling and decided he needed to end this.

"Lily! Cassie! Get down from there!" he ordered.

"No! We're dancing!" Cassie complained.

"And no boys allowed!" Lily said before they kept on singing.

 _Oh, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet  
But they're so spaced out, Bennie and the Jets  
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful  
Oh Bennie she's really keen  
She's got electric boots a mohair suit  
You know I read it in a magazine  
Bennie and the Jets_

"Alright, Cassie, that's enough! Get down!" Remus said protectively.

"Make me!" she said stubbornly still dancing with Lily.

"Cassiopeia! Don't make me call Sirius!" James threatened her.

"Uhh, I'm so scared!" Cassie mocked him.

"Let the girl dance, Potter" Augustus said smirking at them.

"Yeah, she's having fun!" Remus almost lost it when he saw who had said that. Peter.

 _Bennie, Bennie and the Jets  
Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie and the Jets  
Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie,  
Bennie and the Jets  
Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, Bennie and the Jets  
Bennie, Bennie and the Jets_

Remus turned to look at James. "You grab Lily, and I'll grab Cassie" he told him and James nodded.

James walked over to Lily and wrapped his arms around her waist. "AH! Put me down, Potter! This instant!" Lily complained as pulled her down from the table while Cassie kept on dancing.

When Remus was about to get her down, she slipped with the edge of the table and fell. Remus caught her just in time, embracing the girl in his arms. "Hi, Remmy" Cassie smiled up at him. "Your eyes have green on them" she said sweetly.

Remus couldn't help but smile back at her. Before he remembered all of the boys were drooling and wolf-whistling at her. He grabbed Cassie and carried her over his shoulder ignoring everyone else's complaints.

"Let her dance, Lupin! I can take care of her" Augustus said smirking at him. Remus wanted to punch him in the face, but he really needed to get Cassie out of there.

"Remus!" Cassie protested kicking and punching him on the back but he didn't let her go. "Put me down, Lupin!"

The two boys made their way out of the pub with Marlene and Peter behind them.

"Ouch! Bloody hell, woman!" James complained when Lily elbowed him really hard in the stomach so he put her down.

"Cassiopeia!" Remus said putting her down when she grabbed his wand out of his pocket. "What the bloody hell did you girls think you were doing?"

"We were dancing!" Cassie said giggling. "Do you not want to dance with me? Is it because of my hat?" she said getting sad. "Don't you think is pretty?"

"What's wrong Cassie?" Lily turned to look at her.

"Remus doesn't think my hat is pretty" she said sadly.

"Remus Lupin, how dare you!" Lily said glaring at him.

"I never said that!" Remus said rolling his eyes. "You girls are drunk!" Remus said smelling their breath.

"No, we're not!" they complained at the same time.

"How many Butterbeers did you have?"

"Duh, we didn't have Butterbeers we had Firewhisky" Lily said rolling her eyes before Cassie had a chance to shut her up.

"WHAT?!" both James and Remus yelled at the same time.

"You're underage!" James said angrily.

"And Lily, you're a Prefect!" Remus added.

"Oh, so what? You big hypocrites! Is not like you don't sneak Firewhisky into your dorm or every Gryffindor party you throw!" Cassie said glaring at them. "We were just having fun!"

"Yeah, until you _boys_ came and ruined it" Lily told them. "Boys really ruin everything" she said turning to Cassie.

"I told you!"

"Enough!" James said irritated.

"We should probably take them back to the castle" Marlene suggested.

"Yes! Sirius will kill us all if he finds Cassie like this!" James said looking at Remus.

"Excuse me? You are not taking us _anywhere_ " Lily said glaring at James. "We are perfectly capable of going back ourselves" she said crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Right, Cassie?"

Cassie turned to look at Marlene and saw her standing too close to Remus. "Right" she said getting a little upset. "You should go back to your _date_ " she said looking at Remus. He could swear he could see hurt in her eyes. "Let's go Lils" she said linking her arm with Lily and walking away from the group.

"We can't just let them get back like that!" James said worriedly. "They could get hurt or caught! Or worse, Sirius would kill us! You know what? You guys go back to your date and I'll handle Lily and Wormtail can carry Cassie-"

"No!" Remus said a little too quickly glaring at Peter.

"No?" James asked confused but with a small smirk.

"Um, I mean-" he said nervously turning to Marlene. "I'm sorry" he told her. "I just… I can't leave her like that. Do you mind if we head back? Just to make sure they're alright?"

"Yeah, sure, not at all" Marlene said with a small smile. "I was going to say the same thing. They're my friends too, you know" she told him.

"Thanks" Remus said relieved. He really didn't want Peter to be anywhere near Cassie. Especially when she was drunk.

* * *

They quickly caught up with the clumsy girls who were stumbling and giggling while walking and singing.

 _I'd like to be under the sea  
In an octopus' garden in the shade  
He'd let us in, knows where we've been  
In his octopus' garden in the shade  
I'd ask my friends to come and see  
An octopus' garden with me_

"Hey, do you think we should sing that song to the Giant Squid in the lake?" Cassie asked Lily. "Maybe he'll be our friend and let us be on his garden."

"No, he's a squid, not an octopus" Lily corrected her.

"Oh" she simply said before they kept on singing.

"Hey girls" James said approaching them. They both turned to glare at him and he put his hands up in surrender. "I come in peace. Just wondering if you wanted a ride" he offered.

"A ride?" Lily asked him.

"Well, yeah, you can barely walk" James told her. "You wouldn't want to go into the castle looking like that. After all, you know, you're a Prefect."

"Oh, Merlin! He's right! Cassie, I can't go into the castle looking like this! What am I gonna do?"

"Well, I have an idea" James said smirking.

They walked into the Hogwarts Castle with Lily on James' back and Cassie on Remus' back. Peter went to the Kitchens to get them some food and water as Remus ordered. And Marlene followed them to the Common Room.

"You're right, this is so much more subtle" Cassie said laughing and resting her head on Remus' shoulder as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

James said the password and they walked inside. Thankfully, everyone was still at either at Hogsmeade or outside so the Common Room was empty. James and Remus placed the girls on the couch by the fireplace.

"I'm tired" Lily complained closing her eyes.

"I can take you to your dorm, if you'd like" James offered.

"Don't push it, Potter" Lily said glaring at him.

"Come on Lily, I'll take you" Marlene said helping the girl up and walking upstairs.

The two boys turned to look at Cassie, who was snuggled against Remus' chest. "So, what happened?"

"I don't know!" Remus told him. "They came into the Three Broomsticks and said they were having lunch" he explained. "I guessed their lunch was about six glasses of Firewhisky" he said.

"What do you think happened for them to get this drunk?" James asked sitting on the table in front of them and knowing his answer. He just wanted to know if Remus knew.

"I honestly don't know" Remus said confused and turning to look at her. "Is not like them to do this kind of stuff!"

James rolled his eyes and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, you're a smart guy, Moony. I'm sure you'll figure it out" he told him as he stood up. "I'm gonna go help Peter with the food" he said before walking out of the portrait.

Remus was left alone in the Common Room with his best friend almost asleep. Why did they get this drunk? They seemed fine when they ran into them. Cassie would only do this if she was at a party or if she was upset about something. She had been avoiding him for the past few days. And now, he was certain, she was upset. It only hurt him that she wouldn't go to him to talk. She always did. She was never the one to keep things to herself. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her snore a little bit.

"Cassie" Remus shook her gently.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?"

She nodded without opening her eyes. "Remmy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I ruined your date" she told him.

Remus couldn't help but smile a little. "Don't worry, you didn't" he assured her. "Do you want to go to your dorm?"

"Mhm" she answered still with her eyes closed. Remus picked her up and made his way upstairs.

He saw Lily was already on her bed and Marlene was putting a blanket over her. He made his way to Cassie's bed and placed her down gently. He also put a blanket on top of her and kissed her forehead. He saw her smile and smiled back at the sleeping girl.

Marlene watched the entire scene from sitting from her bed. Remus turned around and sat down next to her. "Um, I'm sorry we didn't get to finish our date" he said awkwardly.

"Don't worry" she said smiling sweetly at him. "I had fun" she assured him. Remus smiled gratefully at her. Marlene glanced back at Cassie asleep on her bed. "So… how long have you been in love with Cassie?"

"What?" Remus asked shocked looking at her. She turned around to face him and he was a little relieved that she wasn't mad.

"Come on, Remus" she said with a small chuckle. "It's pretty obvious" she told him as she saw his cheeks turning red.

"You're not mad?" he asked confused.

"Not really" she said shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, I did have a lot of fun today and well, I am a little disappointed, but it was only our first date" she admitted. "Plus, you're not denying it" she pointed out.

"Please don't tell anyone" Remus said getting nervous, admitting of the first time about his feeling for the sleeping girl. "I'm just still not sure about how to deal with this whole thing" he confessed.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me" Marlene said smiling. "For what is worth, Cassie is a very lucky girl" she said kissing his cheek before standing up and walking out of her dorm and leaving Remus Lupin smiling brightly at Cassiopeia Black. The girl he was in love with.

* * *

 **A/N: and there you go! :D hope you guys liked it! :) as always, if you have any suggestions or ideas they're always welcome and, as much as I love you guys following and favoriting me, I would love your reviews even more! ;) so please let me know what you think! thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Songs: Jolene - Dolly Parton  
Bennie and the Jets - Elton John  
Octopus' Garden - The Beatles**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	7. Firefly

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hello everyone first of all, I want to apologize for taking sooooo long to post this chapter! I went away for a few days and then I was really busy and then I got THE WORST writer's block ever! so... not a good combination but I promise I will update regularly from now on! :D now, as usual, I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys are THE BEST! a special thanks to Theharrypotteraddict for your message and to my awesome anonymous reviewer, you are awesooome! aaaaand to an another anonymous reviewer all the way from Germany ;) thank you so much for your review! I am honored that your first review was written for my story! I am so so glad that you like it and, again, sorry for the delay but I'm gonna make sure that doesn't happen again! so here's chapter 7 hope you guys like it! enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _I fell in love next to you  
Burning fires in this room  
It just fits lights and smooth  
Like my feet in my shoesLittle one, lie with me  
Sew your heart to my sleeve  
We'll stay quiet underneath shooting stars  
If it helps you sleep  
And hold me tight, don't let me breathe  
Feeling like you won't believe  
There's a firefly loose tonight  
Better catch it, before it burns this place down  
And I lie if I don't feel so right  
But the world looks better through your eyes  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

Cassie silently made her way to the boys' dorm to return the Cloak she had 'borrowed' from James. She wasn't planning on facing anyone today, except, inevitably, her roommates, but by mid-morning she was hungry. So while everyone was at breakfast she had sneaked into the room, got the Cloak and made her way to the Kitchens and grabbed enough food to supply for the day. She quietly opened her door and walked over to James' trunk without noticing that somebody else was there.

"Does James know you borrow that whenever you want to?"

"AH!" Cassie said jumping in surprise. "Remmy!" she complained bringing a hand to her heart. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Remus let out a small laugh. "You didn't answer my question" he told her.

"What Jamie doesn't know, won't hurt him" she said winking at him.

"Don't you think he's going to notice his Invisibility Cloak disappearing every now and then?"

"He hasn't yet. I've borrowed it about fifty times" she told him.

"That's not that much" Remus said.

"This month" she finished smirking and making Remus laugh.

"Hi" he said putting down his book.

"Hi" Cassie said standing awkwardly in front of him.

"I was beginning to get worried" he admitted. "You skipped breakfast _and_ lunch" he pointed out.

"I know. Sorry" Cassie smiled at him and sat next to him on the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well, aside from the massive headache that woke me up, Sirius and Regulus' stupid endless lecture about what I did, and a few guys I had to hex for saying idiotic things at me… not so bad" she said with a small smile at the end.

"Is that why you borrowed the Cloak?"

"I was hungry" she said shrugging her shoulders. "But Siri found me" she told him rolling her eyes. "You guys and your bloody map" she said with a small laugh.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better" Remus told her smiling too.

"Thanks for taking care of me yesterday" she said with a small smile.

"Any time Cass" Remus assured her.

"Um, Remmy" she said getting a little nervous. "M-Marlene told me about your date" she said not looking at him. "I'm sorry!" she said embarrassed. "I am so sorry I ruined your date! I told her that it was all my fault and that you were just being a good friend and-"

"Cassie" Remus said softly placing his hands on her shoulders to make her stop talking. He chuckled a little at how cute she looked when she rambled. "Hey, it's alright" he said not wanting her to get more upset. He pulled her close to him and hugged her tightly. "You didn't ruin my date" he said trying to make her feel better. Cassie pulled away just slightly and looked up at him.

"I- um, I didn't?"

"No" Remus replied. "Marlene and I talked and we came to the realization that we're better off as friends" he said not wanting to tell her the real story.

"Really?" she asked trying not to sound so excited.

"Yes" Remus explained. "To be honest, I only agreed to the date because… I didn't want to hurt her feelings" he admitted to Cassie. "She just looked really excited and I couldn't say no but Marlene is just my friend" he told her.

"Oh" Cassie said feeling like a big weight was lifted from her shoulders. "So, you're not mad at me?" she asked nervously.

"Of course not" Remus tried to convince her. "I could never stay mad at you" he said kissing her head and making her smile too. "Do you want to head down for dinner?"

"Um, actually, I'm a bit tired" she told him. "And I'd rather avoid… well everybody for a while" she admitted. "But you can go" she told him as she tried to stand up but Remus stopped her.

"How come you're not avoiding me?" he asked with a small smirk.

"I was, actually" she mocked him. "You just happened to be here when I returned the Cloak."

"Well, this happens to be my dorm" he said back.

"Would you like me to leave then?" she asked pouting.

"I would never do that" he said laughing. "So, what did you get from the Kitchens?"

Cassie grabbed her bag and put out some food that the Elves had gladly given to her. "Oh, I almost forgot" she said finding the book she had bought for him the day before. "I got this yesterday" she said handing it to him.

"Cassie! I've been looking for it everywhere" he said excitedly.

"Well, Lily found it and we remembered you wanted it so…" she said shyly while Remus smiled sweetly at her.

"Thank you" he told her.

"You're welcome" she said shrugging it off as if it was nothing.

"What's that?" he asked pointing at the other book in her bag. Before Cassie could grab it, he got it out. "'Hairy Snout, Human Heart'?" he asked with a little laugh seeing Cassie's cheek turn a little red. "Cassie, why did you get this?"

"Professor Dumbledore said it was heartrending" she said trying to grab it from him but he pulled it back out of her reach. "Remus!"

"I want to read it" he said mocking her as he stood up and opened the book. "Oh, this is marvelous" he said laughing.

"Remmy, give it back!" Cassie said standing up and attempting to grab the book but Remus kept on putting it high so she couldn't reach it. "Remus Lupin!"

"Honestly! You might as well buy 'A Hairy Heart' while you were at it" he said laughing at the short girl.

Cassie rolled her eyes and grabbed Remus' pillow. "Give it back!" she said hitting him with it.

"Cassie!" he complained with a little laugh. Cassie was about to hit him again but he caught the pillow before it hit his face. "Oh, you're on Miss Black!"

Remus snatched the pillow from Cassie's hand and hit her with it. Cassie squealed in surprise before she ran to Sirius' bed and grabbed that pillow. The next thing she knew, Remus grabbed her by her waist and pulled her back so he could hit her head with his pillow. Cassie grabbed her pillow, well, Sirius' pillow and started hitting him back. She tried running around the room but he easily pulled her back a little, causing her to fall on his bed and he tripped falling on top of her, both laughing hysterically.

"You bought a stupid book" he said smirking at her. Cassie could feel the red creeping onto her cheeks but she couldn't dare to look away from those deep green eyes.

"I'm still going to read it" was everything that she managed to say as they both got their breathing back to normal. Remus got lost into her deep grey eyes. He could feel his heart beating faster. Cassie frowned her eyebrows in confusion. "Remmy?"

"Cassie-?" he whispered as he felt himself leaning down.

"Hey, Moony! My Lily flower is looking for you. She says is time to do your rounds" James came barging into the room and saw Remus quickly getting off Cassie. "Uh… did I interrupt something?" he asked with a huge smirk and an arched eyebrow.

"Wh-what? N-no, of course not" Remus stuttered standing up. James couldn't really tell which one of the two had a redder face. "Um, I uh, better go" he said quickly kissing Cassie on the head. "I'll see you guys later" he said running out of the room and leaving Cassie and James alone.

Cassie smiled innocently at James and stood up as well. "Well, I guess I'm gonna go too-" she started trying to walk out the door but James blocked it.

"Not so fast, young lady" he said with the evil smirk still on his face. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Really? Come on Cassie we both know it would save us a lot of time if you just tell me" he told her.

"Tell you what?"

"Cassiopeia" he said making her cringe as she glared at him. "I am not letting you out of this room until you tell me the truth" he said in a serious tone.

He had made up his mind. They were driving him crazy. He needed to get it out of one of them. Remus had kept a secret from them for two whole years but Cassie was awful at keeping secrets. So that meant she was the weakest link.

"I do not know what you are talking about-"

"Oh, I think we both know _exactly_ what I'm talking about" he said smirking. "I think you're a little relieved that it was _me_ walking in and not… let's say… your dear brother?"

Cassie felt her knees shaking. "James, honestly-"

"You're in love with Remus!"

"What?" Cassie said letting out a fake laugh. "That is the stupidest thing I have-" she stopped when James arched an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, really? So I guess Moony is always giving you chocolate just because. I mean, we all know there's nothing Moony loves more than chocolate and he doesn't just share it with _anyone_ … except you" he started. "Or how you guys go out to the Common Room and he reads to you when you can't fall asleep, I'm sure he'd do that for Sirius or me also" he continued making Cassie's eyes widen in horror.

"How did you-?"

"Who do you think guards the Map at nights?" Cassie started to bit her lip nervously. "Let's see, what else? How he gets jealous whenever we talk about guys liking you! Merlin, he was furious when you danced at the Three Broomsticks and he didn't want Peter anywhere near you!" he said with a small laugh. "Let's not forget how you burned Peter's parchment into flames for no apparent reason, right? Or was it because you were jealous of his date with Marlene? Oh and my personal favorite how when you smelled Amortentia, both times, you smelled… what was it? Chocolate and old books? Hmm, I wonder which of our acquaintances happen to smell like that-"

"Alright, stop!" Cassie said annoyed. She had known for a while that James knew. She just didn't want to face it yet, but apparently there was no way out of this one. "Fine" she said sighting. "I'minlovewithRemus" she muttered.

"What?"

"I'm. In. Love. With. Remus." she said through clenched teeth.

"I can't quite hear you with all this noise-"

"I'M IN LOVE WITH REMUS!" she yelled before snapping her hands to her mouth when she saw the biggest smirk on James' face.

"Oh, Merlin's Beard! I knew it!" James said getting excited. "I knew it! I knew it!" he said dancing around in victory. "I thought I was imagining it but I am right! Oh Lord, I have to tell someone about this!" he was almost out of the door when Cassie pulled him back inside by his arm.

"NO!" she said mortified. "J-James, please! You can't tell anyone!"

"Why not? You're in love with Moony! I wonder who would freak out first, him or Padfoot" he said laughing.

"Shut up!" she warned him putting a silencing charm on the door. "He can't know! Sirius can't know! Remus would hate me and Sirius would kill me! Please, Jamie" she begged him.

"What's in it for me?" he asked smirking evilly.

"What?"

"What do I get in exchange for my silence?"

"James, really?" she asked frustrated.

"Oh, Padfoot-" he sang mockingly.

"Fine! I will clean your room for a month!" she tried to convince him.

"Still wouldn't be clean" he told her.

"I will do your homework for a month!" she said desperately.

"I think this information is worth more to you than that" he taunted her turning around and made his way to the door. "So I'm going to head back to the Common Room and have a little chat with your dear ol' brother-"

"I'LL HELP YOU WITH LILY!"

James froze on the spot and turned around to face his friend who was looking at him startled.

"What?" James asked not believing his ears.

"I'll help you with Lily" Cassie repeated sighting. "Just, please don't tell anyone" she pleaded.

James pretended to think for a while before closed the door and smiled at her. "Fine."

Cassie looked at him a little confused. "Fine? Really? Just like that?"

"Yeah, I wasn't going to tell anyone" he said in an obvious tone. "I just really wanted you to help me with Lily" he admitted.

"What? You're mean!" she complained.

"Yeah, but I'm your best friend" he said messing her hair.

"I'm pretty sure you gave yourself that title" she said glaring at the tall boy.

"Ah, ah, ah" he said arrogantly. "Is that way to talk to your best friend?"

"Can I leave now?"

"Nope" he said jumping on his bed and patting on his side so she would sit next to him, grabbing the rest of the chocolate her and Remus hadn't finish. Cassie rolled her eyes and joined him. "So, how long have you been in love with our dear Moony?" he asked as he ate some chocolate.

"I don't know" she admitted. "I sort of started having feelings for him last year but I didn't know what they were and well, now I get nervous any time that I'm alone with him and I just I was jealous when he went out on a date with Marlene" she said frustrated.

"I knew it! I knew you wouldn't just blow up Peter's parchment for nothing! Or get drunk for that matter" he told her.

"Yeah, that was a stupid move" she said closing her eyes and throwing herself back on James' bed.

"It wasn't your brightest" James admitted. "But Remus took care of you" he said taking another bite.

"What do I do Jamie?" she said sitting back up.

"If you love him, you have to do something about it. Otherwise, you're going to get mad in that little pretty head of yours" he said placing his hands on her head and shaking it, making her laugh.

"But, what if he doesn't like me back and then it gets weird between us and we can't be friends anymore and-"

"Cassie, stop!" James said trying not to laugh at his friend. "Did you not hear me say about the chocolate things and the readings and the way he gets when guys like you? Cassie, that boy is mad about you!"

"No, he's not" she said looking down.

"Why would you say that?"

"He looks at me like you look at me. I'm just his friend and I really don't want to ruin that" she said sadly. "He probably likes girls like Marlene, you know who wear pretty dresses and fix their hair and wear a lot of makeup and-"

"He doesn't like Marlene. He only said yes because your stupid brother was pressuring him and he didn't want to hurt Marlene's feelings" James assured her.

"Why are you so sure about that?"

"I know Moony" he simply said.

"I don't think I can do anything unless I am sure he likes me back" she said biting her lip.

"Well, then is simple, really" James said in an obvious tone. "We just have to make sure he likes you back" he said eating another chocolate.

"How, exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"Easy" he said getting the evil smirk back no his face. "You make him jealous."

* * *

BOOM!

Another failed attempt. The eight failed attempt.

Cassie sighted sadly as she cleaned herself up a little. It had been a few weeks since she had started the Wolfsbane Potion with Professor Slughorn and so far, no luck. But she couldn't give up. The last full-moon had been even worse than the previous one. Sirius and James had to carry an unconscious Remus to the Hospital Wing and he didn't wake up until almost dinner time because he was so exhausted. It broke Cassie's heart every time she saw him in so much pain. She hated the fact that she still hadn't been able to help him with this potion.

"Don't worry dear girl" Professor Slughorn tried to cheer her up. "The Wolfsbane Potion is a very complex potion" he assured her. "Damocles himself couldn't have invented it without immense effort on his part" he said to the gloomy girl.

Cassie smiled a little sad at him. "Thank you, Professor" she told him. "I'm sorry I'm making you go through all this trouble" she said cleaning up the potion that had exploded everywhere.

"Oh, nonsense dear" Professor Slughorn said with a cheery smile. "I have to admit; I wasn't sure when you first wanted to brew this potion. But your intentions to help Mr. Lupin are very nice. I'm sure he's appreciating all the trouble _you're_ going through" he told her.

"Um, actually he doesn't know about the potion" she said as she continued to clean.

"You haven't told him?"

"Well, I didn't want to get his hopes up in case we weren't able to make it" she said sadly.

"I see" he said. "Miss Black" he said walking towards the witch. "You are one of the top three students in your year" he explained. "Miss Evans, as brilliant as she is, she's always following the books. Mr. Snape is usually more concerned about impressing me, really" he said with a small chuckle. "But you" he continued. "Your determination comes from something else. You might know better than I do where exactly does it come from, but I believe that's what made you beat Mr. Snape in the first place" he finished making the girl smile. "I am certain that we will brew this potion. It might take a few more tries, but I've never perceived you as someone that gives up easily" he told her.

Cassie's smile got a little bigger. "Thank you, Professor" she said before she finished cleaning up.

"You're very welcome" he told her. "I'm also fairly certain that Mr. Lupin would appreciate what you're doing for him whether or not you succeed" he added. "Now, I think that's enough for today, you don't want to your next lesson, we've been here all morning" he said before he walked out of the classroom to leave her cleaning the mess she had made.

She grabbed her bag once she was done and a book fell out of it. Not just any book. It was her favorite book. The one Remus had given her for her last birthday.

 *****Flashback*****

It was the day after the full-moon. She was sitting by Remus' bed, as always. The other three Marauders were still asleep. It had been one of the worst nights according to Sirius, James and Peter. Cassie had to fight the tears when she saw the three friends dragging an unconscious Remus along with them. He had new scars everywhere, and so did the other three. She had spent the entire morning thinking of ways that she could help him. She had been trying to make this work for months now and she was really close to succeed.

"Cassie" she heard a small shaky voice calling her name.

"Hold on, one second" she said still writing on the parchment with her Quill. Remus smiled at how concentrated she was with her tongue sticking out a bit. She had ink on her face and all over her hands. He was a little confused when he spotted another piece of parchment next to her and a Quill writing by itself. "Aaaand… done!" she said happily grabbing the parchment next to her and smiling even bigger. "Yes!"

"What are you doing?" Remus asked sitting up.

"Remmy!" she said realizing he was awake. "D-don't move" she said making her way over to him and sitting down next to him. "Madame Pomfrey said you had to be still for a while" she said smiling sadly when she saw how much in pain he was. "She said you needed to drink this" she said hanging him a cup. Remus nodded grabbing it and taking a sip before he spat it out. "Remmy!"

"That is bloody disgusting!"

Cassie let out a small laugh. "Well, it's supposed to help you heal better, so drink it!" she said in a motherly tone.

"I don't want to!" he said childishly.

"Remus John Lupin!" Cassie said trying not to laugh. "I'll give you chocolate if you drink it" she told him. Remus was debating on whether to give in or not. "And I will sing to you" she told him.

"Fine" he caved it grabbing the cup again and taking another sip. Cassie laughed at the disgusted face he made.

"Is it helping at least?" she asked with a shaky voice. She hated seeing him in pain.

"A little" he said as he finished it. "Hey" he said softly when he saw her eyes were slowly filling with tears. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" she said quickly wiping away a tear hoping he didn't notice. But he did.

"Cassie" he said lifting her head gently so she would look at him. "I'm alright" he assured her. He knew she was always worried about the full-moons and she was always scared when she saw him. He hated that.

"I know" she said trying to stop crying but apparently her eyes had another idea. Cassie never cried in front of anyone. _Never_. Her parents always told her that crying was weakness in her eyes and she was always forced to swallow back the tears. The only one who had seen her cry was Sirius. And then, on their first night here, after her mother's Howler, Remus had found her crying with her brother and oddly enough, she didn't mind crying in front of him, maybe because she didn't feel judged by him. Nevertheless, it was rare for her to cry in front of other people. Remus knew that when she cried, there was a big reason behind it. "I just… when they brought you today… I was scared" she admitted. "I wish I could be there to help you too or-"

"No! That's not gonna happen. I don't want to hurt you" Remus said in a serious tone. "Is bad enough that James, Sirius and Peter did this, I mean, I'm really grateful that they did but it scares me to death to think that I could hurt them" he said in a sad tone. "I couldn't live with myself if I ever hurt you" he said softly putting a strand of hair behind her ear. "I can take this" he assured her before he wiped a tear with his thumb.

"I know" Cassie nodded sadly looking down. "I um" she said wiping away the rest of the tears and smiling sadly at him. "I have something to show you" she said getting a little excited and walking over to where she had been sitting previously. She grabbed both pieces of parchment and both Quills and went back to sit next to him. "Look at this" she said excitedly.

"Your Potions essay?" he asked confused arching an eyebrow. "Do you want me to read it or-?"

"No! I mean, yes, that's my essay, but um… now look at this one" she said grabbing the other piece of parchment and handing it to him.

Remus started to read the parchment in his hand and was even more confused than before. He was sure this was the parchment that had been floating next to Cassie. Both essays had some similarities but it seemed as if they were written by different people. One being Cassie and the other one being… him? It was weird. He didn't have any memory of writing this, but it not only looked like his hand writing, it read like he wrote. With words he used.

"Do you like it?" Cassie asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I uh- what-? When did this-? Um-" he stuttered looking between both parchments. "What is this?" he said looking up at his friend.

"Well, this is my essay for Potions" she said pointing at the parchment on his left hand. "And that is _your_ essay for Potions" she said pointing at the one on his right hand.

"But how did you-?" he started again. "I mean, did you write both of them?"

"Yes and no" she simply answered. When she saw his face was still confused she continued. "Technically I wrote mine, and this Quill wrote yours" she said grabbing the Quill Remus had seen flying next to her.

"How?" was everything that he could say.

"Well, I have been working on it for a while now. I didn't want to tell you because I wasn't sure if it was going to work" she said nervously. "See, I enchanted both of this Quills" she explained grabbing the other Quill too. She got two more pieces of parchments out of her bag and placed one of them underneath the first Quill. "See, whenever I write with this Quill on any piece of parchment" she said grabbing the piece of parchment in front of her. "That Quill writes on another piece of parchment as if it were you" she told him. Remus saw her write down the words 'Cassiopeia M. Black' on her parchment with her Quill. The piece of parchment next to her was quickly floating in the air with the Quill writing on it. But the words on that one were 'Remus J. Lupin'. "See?"

Remus' jaw was dropped in shock. He grabbed both parchments and looked stunned at them. "Bloody hell!" he said looking back at his friend. "How did you do this?"

"Well, it wasn't easy" she admitted scratching the back of her head and letting out a small laugh. "First, I had to charm this Quill into learning your hand writing and the way you wrote, so for that, I had to steal some of your essays and assignments" she said biting her lip nervously.

"That was you? I thought Padfoot and Prongs were doing that" he said letting out a small smile.

"Sorry about that" she told him. "Anyways, after I saw that it could write like you, I charmed it to write by itself and to copy whatever this one was writing" she finished. "I just… I hated seeing how tired you were every day after the full-moon and you still had to do essays and assignments and well, I know you'll still go through them and correct them and maybe even re-do them but… I don't know, I thought it might help" she said shyly.

Remus could not believe it. She had gone through all this trouble just to help him.

"Cassie, I-" he started still looking between both essays. "This is brilliant! You're brilliant! I-" he smiled up at her. "I can't believe you did this for me" he whispered.

"Remmy" Cassie said smiling. "I'd do anything for you" she assured him. "You're my best friend" she told him. Remus smiled brightly up at her, all pain forgotten.

"Thank you" he said sitting up and kissing her forehead. When he pulled away Cassie smiled up at him and got lost in his deep green eyes for a little while. "I have a surprise for you too" he told her and Cassie got a little confused. "Although I can't quite reach it" he said pointing at the nightstand next to his bed. "Would you open the drawer for me?"

Cassie smiled at him with a quizzical look and leaned over to the drawer. She opened it and found a purple box inside. She grabbed it and took it out looking back at Remus.

"Happy birthday!" he said smiling at her. She felt her heart beat faster. She thought he would forget about it with the full-moon and all. "You didn't think I'd forget about it, did you?"

"No, of course not!" she said with a small laugh. _What is he a mind reader?_

"You're the worst liar in the world" he said with a small chuckle.

"When did you-? Uh-" now it was her turn to be confused.

"I brought it to Madame Pomfrey a few days ago" he told her. "Sorry it had to be the day after the full-moon" he said with sad eyes. "But I knew you'd be here so I asked her to put it there so I could be the first one to wish you a happy birthday" he finished with a smile.

"Remmy! You didn't have to" she said smiling back at him.

"This coming from the girl who just charmed two Quills to help me with my homework" he said rolling his eyes. "You know Sirius and James would kill you if they find out you didn't make one for them" he told her.

"First of all, they don't deserve it. They're lazy bums. And second, you won't tell them or I won't use yours to help you" she said smirking.

"Fair enough" Remus said with a laugh.

"So, can I open it?" she asked with a childish smile. She and Sirius would usually open all of their presents together, but it was very hard for her to resist not opening a present.

"Fine, but don't tell Sirius" he said.

"Ok" she said happily.

Cassie opened the box excited. She saw a small back filled with her favorite chocolate and her smile got even bigger. And then, when she pulled the bag out, she saw it. There, on the bottom of the box was a copy of 'The Beauty and The Beast'. It was her favorite muggle story. Remus read it to her whenever she asked him to, which was way more than she would like to admit. She opened the cover and saw he had written on the first page: _'Sorry I can't get you the whole Library yet, but it's a start! -Remus'_.

"You like it so much I thought it was only fair for you to have your own copy" she looked up to see Remus smiling brightly at her.

"Remmy" she said feeling her eyes welling up again but for a whole different reason. "Thank you!" she said throwing her arms around his neck and Remus wrapped his around her waist.

"You're welcome, love" he said kissing her head. It was rare whenever Remus would call her that, but deep inside, she loved it. "Glad you like it" he said stroking his hand up and down her back.

"I love it" she said smiling and resting her head on his shoulder.

 *****End of Flashback*****

Cassie hugged her book to her chest. Yes, she was in love with her best friend. And she had to do anything she could to help him. She wasn't giving up.

"Hey, there you are!"

Cassie turned around to find James on the door.

"How did you-?" she started her question before she spotted the Marauder's Map in his pocket. "Oh."

"I've been looking all over for you" James said walking over to her. "We haven't set our plan in motion" he told her.

"That's because it's a stupid plan" Cassie said grabbing her bag.

"It is not stupid!"

"James, how am I going to make Remus jealous if you, Sirius _and_ Remus scare every guy that comes my way? Plus, I would never just use a guy to make him jealous!"

"Well, we just have to clear out the finishing touch, but we'll figure something out" he told her as they made their way to their next class.

"I still don't think it's a good idea" she said unconvinced.

"What's not a good idea?" suddenly, Lily came towards the friends along with Remus.

"Definitely not you going out with me" James said winking at her. "I believe that is the best idea in the entire world!"

"Can't you ever just have a normal conversation?" Lily asked annoyed.

"If the conversation ends with you agreeing to go out with me, I can" James told her. Lily rolled her eyes and ignored him for the rest of the walk.

"So, what were you and Cassie talking about?" Remus asked James curiously as the two girls walked ahead of them.

"About how to get Lily to go out with me" James responded.

"Prongs, you really never are going to give this up, are you?"

"Nope" James said popping out the 'p' and Remus rolled his eyes. The two boys followed the girls into their next class. Remus was about to sit next to Cassie but James beat him to it. He looked at them a little weird but sat behind them anyways. "See?" James whispered to her.

"What?" Cassie asked him confused.

"He's already jealous" he informed her and pointed at Remus on the other table.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Right, he's so jealous of you" she mocked him. "Don't you reckon he's also jealous of Sirius? Or Regulus perhaps?"

"Mock me all you want" James said offended. "I'll make him break" he said smirking. "So, what's _your_ brilliant plan to get my Lily flower to go out with me?"

"First of all, stop calling her Lily flower, she really hates it" Cassie pointed out. "And then…" she said looking at Lily sitting with Alice. "Look, Lily is not like the girls you've dated" she told her. "Meaning she's not dumb" she said.

"I don't go out with dumb girls!" James said offended.

"Yes, you do" Cassie told him. "Anyways, that being said, stop talking to her the way you do. If you want to… ugh" she stopped closing her eyes. "If you want to 'woo' her then you're going to have to be different!"

"How?" James asked genuinely confused. His ways had always worked in the past.

"Well, you can start by not asking her out every single day" she told him.

"What? But then how is she supposed to say yes?"

"Do you trust me?" Cassie asked rolling her eyes.

"I guess" James said still not fully convinced.

"Then listen to me" she told him. "Try not asking her out for one day and see what happens" she said with a small smile. James sighted in defeat.

"Alright" he said before Sirius burst into the class with Peter behind him and he ran towards Cassie.

"Cassie, my beautiful twin sister, you look gorgeous today" he said smiling and running a hand through her long hair.

"What do you want?" Cassie said without any emotion.

"You will not believe who just broke up with her boyfriend" he told her, getting Remus' attention too.

"How is it that you know all this gossip all the time but still can't remember how to turn an animal into a water goblet?" Cassie asked her brother.

"Hey! It is my responsibility to know the current relationship status of all the pretty girls in school" he defended himself.

"Fine, who just broke up with her boyfriend?"

"Roxanne" Sirius said smirking.

"What?" Cassie widened her eyes. "Oh, no! No, no, no, no!" she stood up from her seat and faced her twin. "You stay away from Roxanne Malfoy, Sirius!" she warned her brother.

"You and I both know that is not going to happen" Sirius told his sister with a small smirk.

"Malfoy's sister?" James told his friend. "Do you really think she would give you the time of day?"

"Right, how's it going with Evans, Prongs?" Sirius asked with a smirk and James glared at him.

"Sirius, listen to me" Cassie said getting the attention back to her. "Do not get involved with the Malfoy family" she pleaded. "If you date Roxanne and then dump her, like you will, she would tell her father and her father would tell our father and our father would tell our mother!"

"Not to mention Malfoy will kill you!" Remus said with a little laugh.

"Please, I could take Malfoy with one hand" Sirius said cocky. "I thought you'd be happy, you like Roxanne" he told his sister.

"I love Roxanne! That's why I don't want you near her!"

"Well, that's just mean Cassiopeia" Sirius said offended. Cassie was about to reply when Professor Flitwick came inside the class.

"See?" James whispered again in Cassie's ear.

"What?" she asked confused again and she noticed James had his arm around her shoulders. She turned to look at the boy sitting behind them and noticed how he had accidentally spilled the ink he was using all over his parchment as he was glaring at the boy sitting next to her.

"And you say he's not jealous" James said laughing before he removed his arm around Cassie.

* * *

"So, what is a beautiful girl like yourself doing alone on this evening?" Augustus McLaggen said sitting down next to her in the Common Room.

"Hi Gus" she said politely.

"That's a fairly amount of books, isn't it?" he mocked looking at all the books that were surrounding her.

"Um yeah" she said with a little smile. "I'm working on a potion with Professor Slughorn" she said putting the books away. There was no way she was letting anyone know which potion she was making and why.

"So, I take it you beat Snape, then?"

"Surprisingly, I did" she said smiling.

"Well, not that surprising, I mean you're a brilliant witch" he said winking at her.

"Thank you" she said kindly before she spotted Marlene, Lily, and Alice on the corner of the Common Room making gestures at her. She simply rolled her eyes and turned back to Augustus. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of the mighty Augustus McLaggen taking some time out of his busy schedule to talk to me?" she mocked him.

"Mighty?" he asked smirking. "I wouldn't say mighty, but thank you" he told her laughing a little.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that's how your Fan Club would describe you" she said smiling a little and nodding her head towards a group of girls that were sighting dreamily at the boy and glaring a little at the girl.

"Well, what can I say?" he said smirking arrogantly. "It's a shame though, the one girl that I'm interested in isn't a part of the club" he told her.

"Oh, what a bummer" she said pretending to be sad.

"Can't blame her" he continued. "She's got a Fan Club herself" he told her. "Even has a security system around her like twenty-four/seven" he said making her laugh a little. Cassie didn't want to but she couldn't help to feel her cheeks turning a little red. "Amazingly she doesn't have them with her tonight" he finished.

"Sounds like a fancy girl" she said smirking.

"She is" Augustus said smirking. "See, she's got at least half of the boys in the school after her, she's the star of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, she's one of the brightest witches in her year _and_ apparently she's madly wicked at Potions too" he said still smirking.

Cassie then did something she rarely did with anyone. She giggled. "Well, she sounds like quite a catch" she told him.

Surprisingly, Cassie was too involved in the conversation to notice the portrait open and the four Marauders walking in.

"That was bloody brilliant" Peter said between laughs.

"I know! Those Slytherins had no idea what was coming" James said laughing along with him.

"I don't think they're going to get rid of that smell for weeks" Sirius added. "What do you say Moony?" he said hitting Remus' arm. But Remus' eyes were landed somewhere else. Somewhere along the corner of the Common Room where a dark-haired witch was talking to the Captain of the Quidditch team. "Moony?" Sirius followed his eyes and landed on his sister talking to Augustus. "What the bloody hell?" he asked about to go over there, but surprisingly, James stopped him.

"Wait" he said looking at his friend. "She's having fun" he announced.

"So? I don't want that prick near my sister" he argued.

"Oh bugger off, Black" Lily said coming towards the group of boys with Marlene and Alice. "Let your sister have fun sometime" she told him.

"Why don't you mind your own business, Evans?" Sirius asked annoyed.

"I could tell you to do the same thing" she said smirking.

"Come on, Sirius you can't expect Cassie to never date anyone" Alice told him. Marlene was more interested in seeing Remus' reaction, as was James.

"I can and I will" Sirius told them as he tried to walk over to them again but Lily stepped in front of him. "Prongs, do something!"

"Actually, I'm with Lily on this one" James told him.

"WHAT?!" Sirius _and_ Remus snapped at the same time.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly like it either" he defended himself. "But I think Cassie can take care of herself" he told the other two.

As if on cue, the group of teens saw Augustus flying across the Common Room and landing close to them. They saw Cassie walking towards him and backed away when they saw how furious she was. She leaned down towards Augustus and glared at him.

"Don't _ever_ call me babe again" she threatened him before she quickly ran out of the portrait.

The seven teens looked confused between the girl who had just walked out and the boy that was on the floor.

"Told you" was the only thing that came out of James' mouth. Sirius was about to go after Cassie, but Remus stopped him.

"I'll go" he quickly volunteered, ignoring both Marlene and James smirking at him. "You'll get in trouble if you go out right now, is after hours" he quickly covered up. "Besides, I think you need to deal with him" he said fuming nodding towards Augustus who was trying to get up from the floor.

"Here" Sirius agreed with Remus, putting the map on his pocket before the Prefect walked out of the Common Room looking for his friend.

Remus ran trying to follow the footsteps that read 'Cassiopeia Black' on the map. He wasn't far behind but she was a quick runner. He knew where she was going though; The Astronomy Tower. It was her favorite place in the entire castle. He turned around on the corner, managing to avoid Filch and saw Cassie running in front of him.

"Cassie!" he yelled but she didn't even look back. "Cassie!" he yelled again catching up with the witch. "Cassie, stop!"

"Remmy, please" she said catching her breath. "I just want to be alone" she said with her voice breaking a little.

"You can't be out here at this hour" he told her.

"Fine, then give me detention! I don't care!" she snapped looking at him and Remus saw how furious she was.

"Cassie" he said with his tone turning soft.

"Just leave me alone" she said trying to walk past him but he stopped her.

"I'm not leaving you like this" he said worriedly. "What happened?"

"Same thing that always happens" she said bitterly. They both heard footsteps coming towards them. Remus checked the map and saw Filch was coming their way.

"Come here" he said pulling her into a storeroom nearby.

"Remus what-?"

"Filch was coming" he whispered putting one of his hands on her mouth. They stayed quiet for a while until they heard the footsteps die. Remus removed his hand from Cassie's mouth and she simply looked down. "Cassie" he whispered making the girl look back at him. "What happened?"

Cassie sighted sadly, knowing once again, there was no way out of this. She sat on the floor and against the wall. "Augustus came over to talk to me" she started sadly.

"Yeah, I figured that much" Remus said trying to not sound so harsh as he sat down next to her.

"I was going to brush him off like I usually do but he was actually being… nice" she confessed. "He was being polite and funny and I just thought" she sighted again holding her knees to her chest and resting her head on them. "I don't know. I thought maybe he actually liked me" she said not daring to look at Remus, whose blood was boiling a little. "Lily mentioned he wanted to ask me to Hogsmeade last weekend and since our conversation was being enjoyable I thought he was different" she continued. She lifted her head up again before she continued her story. "And then he said he had some Firewhisky and that we could go to his dorm and have some fun" she finished disgusted. Remus felt like he wanted to punch his fist through a wall but he needed to calm himself. She needed him right now, and he knew Sirius was dealing with Augustus. "I just ugh! I just had to get out of there" she said frustrated. "Sorry" she said resting her head on his shoulder. Remus stayed there in silence for a while before he stood up.

"Come on" he said holding her hand and helping her up.

"I don't think I want to head back just yet" she said sadly.

"I didn't say we were going to the Common Room" he whispered before he opened the door and checked the map. "Let's go!" he said pulling her out and lead her down the hall.

"Remmy, is after hours" she said letting out a small laugh. It wasn't like him to sneak up like this. "Aren't you going to get in trouble? You're a Prefect!"

"If you don't be quiet, _we_ _will_ get in trouble" he whispered as they made their way to the seventh floor.

"Remmy what-?"

Remus opened the door to the Room of Requirement and brought Cassie inside.

"Look" he said smiling at the view. Cassie gasped at the beautiful sight in front of her. They were standing in the middle of a room with blankets and cushions on the floor and millions of fireflies were floating all around the celling.

"Wow" she said smiling and forgetting everything that was bothering her for the moment. "They're beautiful" she said looking at them lighting up the night.

"Yeah" Remus said smiling too. But he wasn't looking at the fireflies. He was looking at the girl standing next to him. Both friends sat there looking up as they light up the night in perfect silence.

"How did you find it? Is not on your map" she asked suddenly.

"We couldn't put it in the map because it's always changing its location" Remus explained. "Lucky shot, I guess" he said smiling.

"Well, I'm glad you found it" she said smiling up at him and Remus smiled back at her.

"You know" Remus started. "When I was little, my mum and I used to catch fireflies" he said with a sad smile. Remus didn't talk about his mother much. But Cassie loved just how happy he seemed remembering her. "I was afraid of the dark so we'd put them in jars and bring them up to my room" he admitted looking down. "And now every time I'm upset I just... it feels like she's still here, you know?"

Cassie smiled softly at him. "What do you miss most about her?"

"Her smile" Remus grinned at her. "She just had this smile that sort of made everything…"

"Better?" Cassie finished for him.

"Yes. How did you know?" he asked confused.

"You have the same smile" she said thankful that it was dark and he couldn't see her cheeks blushing. Little did she know he was just as thankful as she was.

"She would've loved you" he told her. "And the guys" he added quickly.

"It would've been lovely to know her" Cassie said smiling. "And I'm sure she would be very proud of you" she said making him blush a little. Cassie leaned back before she spotted something on the corner. "Hey" she said getting up and walking towards it. "Is that thing you and Lily have that plays music" she said happily.

"A record player" Remus told her with a small laugh.

"How do you make it work?" she asked confused. Remus laughed a little more before getting up and walking towards her.

"What would you like to hear?" he asked.

"Umm" she said thinking biting her lip. "Play me your mum's favorite song" she said suddenly. Remus looked a little confused at her. "You're always singing a song that you say is her favorite" she told him. Remus smiled at her and looked through the records to put on the one he knew his mother loved the most.

 _Once upon a time, a girl with moonlight in her eyes  
Put her hand in mine and said she loved me so  
But that was once upon a time, very long ago_

Remus smiled sadly at the memory of him dancing that son with his mother whenever either one of them were feeling sad. Or happy for that matter. Cassie smiled at the sound of the song.

 _Once upon a hill, we sat beneath the willow tree  
Counting all the stars and waiting for the dawn  
But that was once upon a time - now the tree has gone_

"It's a beautiful song" Cassie told him.

"I know" Remus said smiling at her. Cassie stood up in front of him and pulled her hand out for him.

"Come on, let's dance" she said smiling.

"Oh, uh, no Cass- you know I don't dance" Remus said nervously. It was true, he hadn't danced with anyone who wasn't his mother. Which meant he hadn't danced since he was seven.

"You can't be worse than Sirius" she joked. "Come on" she said pulling him up. Ramus laughed a little and stood up.

"Fine" he smiled softly and placed his hand safely on her waist while he took her other hand in his. Cassie quickly placed her free hand on his shoulder and they started slow dancing to the song.

 _How the breeze ruffled through her hair  
_ _How we always laughedAs though tomorrow wasn't there  
We were young and didn't have a careSo where did it go?_

Remus placed his head on top of Cassie's. It was as if it fitted perfectly. Cassie could hear Remus' heartbeat and she found herself smiling widely when she heard how fast it was going. She had no idea why but she felt sort of… safe and happy in his arms.

"See? You're not such a bad dancer" she said with a nervous smile.

"Such?" Remus said pretending to be offended. "Well, maybe if I have the right partner" he said smiling back at her. Cassie could feel the red creeping onto her cheeks but she couldn't dare to look away from those deep green eyes.

"Thank you Remmy" she said smiling brightly at him. Remus smiled back at her before he kissed her forehead.

"Anytime Cass" he said resting his head on hers once again.

 _Once upon a time,  
The world was sweeter than we knew  
Everything was ours – how happy we were then  
But, somehow, once upon a time  
Never comes again_

* * *

 **A/N: and there it is! :D to be honest, this isn't my favorite chapter and it was hard to get it out but I still hope you guys liked it! :) as always, if you have any suggestions or ideas they're always welcome and, as much as I love you guys following and favoriting me, I would love your reviews even more! ;) so please let me know what you think! thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Song: Once Upon a Time - Jay McShann**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	8. Where We Land

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hello again, sorry this took me a little more than I thought but here it is! :D now, as usual, I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys are THE BEST! a special thanks to Theharrypotteraddict for your message, to an anonymous reviewer and JR thank you for your review! and don't worry, I will not abandon this story! :D and now, here's chapter 8 hope you guys like it! enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _Tell me your secrets  
Give me a friend  
Let all the good times flood in  
Do I love you? Do I hate you?  
I can't make up my mind  
So let's freefall  
And see where we land  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"You will now divide... into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence, alright? Carry on" Professor Goldstein said to the students before he used his wand to move the desks away and make room for everyone to pair up.

Remus was about to walk over to Cassie only to find he was once again beaten by one of his friends.

"Hey Cass, what do you say you and your best friend?" James said smirking while he put his arm around her shoulders and messed her hair.

"You're on, Potter!" Cassie said smirking and getting him off her and noticing Remus partnered with Lily instead.

"So, have you given any thought to my new plan yet?" James asked her.

"Yes" Cassie replied as they assumed positions.

"And?"

"No" she simply said.

"Come on" James said annoyed before they both saw Peter flying across the room and Sirius smirking proudly from his spot. "Why not?"

"Because is a stupid idea!"

"Would you stop saying that all my ideas are stupid?" James complained before Cassie drew out her wand and he felt himself flying backwards. "Hey!"

"You're not even trying, Potter" Cassie said laughing. "And I would stop saying that you're ideas are stupid if you give me an idea that _isn't_ stupid" she said as James stood up and made his way back to her.

"How is you inviting Remus to the next Hogsmeade weekend a stupid idea?"

"First of all, the next Hogsmeade weekend isn't for another couple of weeks. Second, I don't think it'd be a good idea since it's what Marlene did last Hogsmeade weekend. What if Remus only says yes again so he won't hurt my feelings?" she said and watched James rolled his eyes. "And third" she said smirking at him.

"What?" James asked before Cassie pointed her wand at him and he felt something push him backwards again. "Cassie!" he complained getting up again.

"Wonderful, Miss Black" Professor Goldstein said smiling at the girl.

"Thank you, Professor" Cassie said politely.

"Alright, fine" James said standing in front of her. "If I win, you have to ask Remus out" he said smirking.

"And _when_ I win?" Cassie said grinning back at him.

"Sometimes it scares me how identical you and Sirius are" James told her. " _If_ you win" he continued. "Well, I don't know. What do you want?"

"Well" Cassie said biting her lip nervously and looking over at Sirius who was blocking Peter's jinx without any difficulty. "Get Sirius off my back" she told him.

"What do you mean?"

"I think he's starting to suspect there's something going on, although I'm not sure if he thinks it's with you or Remus-"

"What?"

"But I don't want him finding out just yet" she told him. "Do we have a deal?"

"You have a deal, Miss Black" James said as they shook hands.

They walked back to their positions and turned around ready to jinx the other. The two students kept on casting spells on each other. By the end of the period, the duel was pretty tight.

"Ouch!" Cassie yelled landing once again on the floor.

"That's fourteen to thirteen" James said smirking before he felt something pulling his ankle and making him fall back on the floor.

"Fourteen to fourteen" Cassie said standing up. James glared at her before he was back on his place.

"Alright" he challenged. "Last time" he said getting ready.

Cassie was also ready but she heard someone laugh. She turned around and saw Remus laughing sitting on the floor as Lily helped him up. He turned to look at her and smiled waving at her. Cassie smiled back and waved back at him before she was suddenly spinning through the air and finally landing on Remus.

"James Potter!" she heard Lily's voice. Cassie lifted her head to find out she was on top of Remus.

"I believe you just fell for me" he said smiling up at her. Cassie could feel her cheeks were the colors of her house and let out a nervous laugh.

"Fifteen!" she heard James shout at her. She turned around to glare at him before it dawned to her. She lost.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked, still sitting on the floor.

"Y-yeah, um- sorry Remmy" she said getting up and helping him up.

"Don't worry, Cass" he said smiling at her and kissing her head. Cassie felt her cheeks getting a deeper shade of red as butterflies were in her stomach and she let out a small giggle.

"Oh, bloody hell!" everyone in the class turned to look at Sirius who was glaring at his sister.

"Oh no" Cassie muttered before she ran over to her brother.

"You have got to be kidding me!" he said fuming. Cassie pulled him by his arm and dragged him out of the classroom as quickly as she could.

"Sirius-"

"You fancy Moony?!" he snapped at her.

"Shh! I don't want the entire school to know! I- um, wait a minute! How did you-?"

"I'm your twin, Cassiopeia! I notice things! Granted for a while I wasn't sure if it was him or Prongs, but still!" he complained.

"He figured it out didn't he?" James said coming out of nowhere.

"Ugh!" Cassie said annoyed.

"Wait, you knew? James knew before I did?" Sirius said offended.

"I didn't tell him either! He figured it out!"

"Before you did" James said smirking.

"Shut up!" Sirius snapped at him.

"Both of you shut up!" Cassie snapped at them.

"Oh, don't tell me to shut up!" Sirius glared at her. "You fancy Moony!"

"She's in love with him" James added.

"You're WHAT?!"

"Thanks a lot James!" Cassie said glaring at him.

"You're _in love_ with Moony?"

"I um- I'm not sure" she started.

"He's my best friend!"

"Hey!"

"Well, he's my best friend too, Siri!"

"Am I invisible to you, people? Feelings are getting hurt here!"

"You can't be in love with Moony!"

"Is not like I planned it" Cassie complained. "It just… happened!"

"Well, it is NOT happening!" Sirius snapped back. "I forbid it!"

"Mate!" James said nervously, knowing that was probably not the best idea.

"You _forbid_ it?" Cassie said crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You cannot tell me what to do!"

"Yes, I can! I am your brother! And I am older than you!"

"You're five minutes older than me! And you don't see me telling you what to do when it comes to dating all your fan girls-"

"That's different!"

"Oh, you're right, it _is_ different because I actually have feelings for Remus and you just jump from girl to girl-"

"You do _not_ have feelings for my best friend-"

"Still here" James said annoyed. "Guys, this conversation is really leading nowhere-"

"Shut up!" both twins glared at him and James simply closed his mouth.

"You can't go out with Moony!"

"Don't worry! I won't go out with Moony!" Cassie said sadly.

"What? But you have to! You lost! We had a deal, remember?" James said again.

"What?" Sirius asked confused.

"I beat you! Fifteen to fourteen! If you lost you had to ask Moony out!"

"She is not asking him out! You're encouraging this? I thought you were my best friend!"

"I thought Moony was your best friend" James said offended crossing his arms.

"Prongs, you know what I meant-"

"Oh, shut up! You sound like a married couple!" Cassie yelled irritated.

"Don't change the subject" James told her.

"Stop cheering for this relationship!"

"Why? Out of all the boys in the school, aside from me" he said before he winked at Cassie. "Don't you think Moony would be perfect for Cassie?"

"No! Mate, that's my sister!"

"And what, Sirius? You just think she's going to turn into an old maid and never get married?"

"That's alright guys, keep on talking about me as if I'm not here" Cassie said rolling her eyes.

"You and I both know that Remus would be perfect for her" James continued. Cassie arched her eyebrow at James. It was rare when the Marauders called each other by their first names. "He wouldn't be just like any other guy that's tried to woo her! He's in love with her!"

Sirius let out a laugh. "He's not in love with her! How could he be in love with her? It's _Cassie_!"

The words came out of his mouth before he could think them through. Cassie knew that he hadn't meant it the way she felt it. But she still felt that little pain in her heart. Sirius was right. Remus wasn't in love with her. He couldn't be. She was just Cassie.

"Wow" she said glaring at her brother.

"Cassie, I didn't-"

"No, no" she said trying to laugh. "Thank you Sirius" she told him. Both boys watched her wipe a tear from her eye before she walked away from them.

"Pads, I know you're upset but that was a little harsh, mate" James told him.

"I didn't mean it like that" Sirius said sadly looking at his friend.

"Hey" Remus said walking over to them with Peter and the rest of the class. "Class is over" he announced. "Where's Cassie?"

"Yeah, _where_ is Cassie, Padfoot?" James teased his friend.

"Shut up!" Sirius said rolling his eyes and walked down the hallway with the other three behind them.

* * *

When they reached the Great Hall for lunch, Cassie wasn't there yet. James turned to look at Sirius who looked away a little guilty. The other two Marauders just looked confused between them. Cassie arrived a few minutes later but she didn't even look their way. The girl simply walked over to where two of her roommates were and sat down next to Alice. Sirius felt even worse when he saw that Cassie was barely putting food in her plate, and she wasn't even eating it.

"Damn it" he muttered under his breath.

"So, how come you're not with the Marauders today?" Alice asked curious.

"Had enough of them for the week" Cassie said shrugging her shoulders.

"Uh, is everything alright with them?" Lily asked curious.

"Yeah, why?"

"They have been acting rather strange lately" Lily said.

"Strange? Strange how?" Cassie asked confused.

"Well-"

"She's upset because James hasn't asked her out lately" Alice said smirking.

"What?" Cassie asked copying her friend's smirk.

"That is not true!" Lily complained but Cassie noticed her cheeks turning a little red.

"Oh, are you warming up to Jamie, Lils?"

"No!" she defended herself. "It's a relief is what it is to not have his arrogant face around saying stupid things" she said annoyed.

"I think someone has a crush" Alice sang with a smile.

"I was about to say the same thing" Cassie said.

"Shut up! I do not, nor will I ever have a crush on _James Potter!_ "

"Hey, girls!" Marlene said joining the other three. "Did you hear about the great news?"

"That Lily fancies James?" Cassie said earning a glare from the redhead.

"What? You do?" Marlene said excitedly.

"No!" Lily complained. "What's the good news?"

"We're having a Ball!" Marlene said happily.

"What?"

"A Ball?"

"Wait, how did you know that?" Lily asked her.

"You knew?" Alice and Cassie asked at the same time.

"All the Prefects knew" Lily explained. "They told us a few days ago but we weren't supposed to say anything until they made it official" she told them. "How did you find out?"

"Well, I heard it from Olivia, who heard it from Mary Macdonald, who heard it from Lucinda and Emma, who said that Professor Slughorn sort of let it slip but apparently, they're announcing it today" she explained.

"There's gonna be a Ball?" Alice said getting eager.

"All prefects knew?" Cassie asked confused and unconsciously turning to look at Remus and remembering that night when she was upset and they danced in the Room of Requirement.

For a second, she imagined what it would be like the two of them dancing together in the Ball. She found herself smiling at the image of a dressed up Remus with his hair pulled back and looking even more handsome than usual. She pictured herself with one of the dresses she did like to wear. Remus will walk with her to the middle of the Great Hall and they would dance the entire night together. And at the end of the song, he would smile brightly at her and lean down to kiss her. But her daydream was rudely interrupted. _How could he be in love with her? It's Cassie!_ The words had kept running through her mind ever since Sirius said it. It was likely true. There was no way that Remus would feel that way about her. She saw a group of girls that were talking to the Marauders. The girls were from Ravenclaw and were a year younger than them. She recognized them as part of Sirius' fan club. She felt her heart clench when she saw all of them laughing at something they said. Including Remus. It was much like when she had seen him with Marlene. And then it dawned on her. She wasn't like those girls, or like Marlene. She would never be the girl with the perfect hair or girls who could wear white and not spill on it.

"May I have your attention please?" Professor Dumbledore's voice interrupted her thoughts. The students all turned around to listen to Professor Dumbledore's speech about how there indeed was a Ball. A Winter Ball. A week before they left for Christmas break. Only students from Fourth Year and up could attend and that was about everything Cassie heard before her mind traveled off somewhere else. She was too busy playing with the food on her plate and thinking about a certain werewolf, that she didn't even notice said werewolf was staring at her throughout the entire lunch.

* * *

"Ugh! Bullocks!" Cassie cursed with her eyes shot as she felt her potion explode in her face.

Since she had some free time and she didn't really want to spend it with her roommates talking about dates and dresses for a Ball that wasn't for another month, she decided to try and work on her potion. Even if Professor Slughorn was teaching, he said she could give it a try and let him know if she needed anything. She sighted at her failure once again before she started cleaning up the classroom.

"Need any help with that?" Cassie turned around hitting a cauldron in the process and dumping the rest of the potion on the floor, getting some on her leg.

"Shit!" she cried feeling her leg burn.

"Cass!" Remus said walking in and tried to help her. "Are you alright-?"

"No! No, I'm not alright! It still hasn't worked out! I don't get it! Nothing in this bloody school ever works out!" she yelled frustrated throwing her books at the ground before she sat on the floor.

"Cassie" Remus said softly kneeling down next to her. "Hey, Cass, it's alright-"

"No, is not! I have been trying to make this potion for about a month and it's not fair!" Cassie looked up at him and Remus saw the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. He knew that Cassie hated crying in front of people. He could count on one hand how many times she had cried in front of him. She must really be upset.

"Hey, it's ok, you're going to get it right-"

"No, I won't! Because I'm a stupid witch! I can't brew this potion! I wasn't even able to beat Snape without James and Sirius' help and I and ugh Sirius-" she grunted frustrated and let the tears run freely down her soot-filled face.

"Hey, Cassie, Cassie stop!" Remus said placing her face gently between his hands to calm her down. "It's ok, love" he whispered as she felt the tears flowing down her cheeks. "It's ok" he whispered pulling her by her waist and sitting her on his lap. "Come here" he said taking out a handkerchief from his back pocket and getting the soot out of her face while she tried to calm down.

"Wow" she said letting out a sad chuckle. "A man with a handkerchief; I didn't know they made those anymore" she said smiling at him and trying to get her breathing back to normal. "Thank you" she said shyly once he finished cleaning her face.

"You're welcome" he replied kissing her forehead, lingering his lips a little longer until he felt her calm down. "Would you like to tell me what this is all about?"

"Not particularly" she said resting her head on his shoulder.

"You're not brewing anything dangerous in here, are you?" he asked worriedly.

"Well, don't tell anyone but I'm actually making a Dragon Potion, so most of the ingredients we have to take from dragons-"

"That's not funny" Remus said in a serious tone.

"Remmy, Professor Slughorn wouldn't let me do anything dangerous" she said laughing a little at her joke.

"I know, I just… don't understand why you can't tell me what you're doing" he said a little frustrated.

"I told you that I will once I've done it" she said back. "If I ever do it" she muttered.

"Hey" he said lifting up her head so she would face him again. "Enough of that" he told her. "You are a brilliant witch, alright? And, although I don't know which potion you're trying to brew, I am certain that you will succeed. Because you are not a quitter! And I am also sure that even without Sirius and James' help you would've beaten Snape" he assured her.

Cassie couldn't help but let out a small smile. She had no idea how Remus always managed to make her smile even if she felt miserable. She rested her head back on his shoulder, loving the way it sort of fit there. "Would you still like me if I can't brew it?"

Remus frowned his eyebrows in confusion. "What kind of question is that? Cassie, of course, I would! You are my best friend!" Cassie just nodded sadly looking down. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint him. She didn't want to move from her spot but she had to.

"I better clean this off" she said getting up and started to clean up.

"I'll help you" Remus offered, getting up as well and helping her. "So, what happened with you and Sirius?" Remus suddenly asked. Cassie opened her mouth ready to reply but Remus beat her to it. "Please save us some time and don't say 'nothing'" he said and she turned to glare at him.

"He was being an idiot" she simply said.

"He always is" he joked. "But when you guys fight you usually yell, not stop talking" he pointed out.

"Yeah, well, he just said something really stupid this time" she muttered.

"What did he say?"

"I'm sorry?" Cassie asked a little nervous.

"What did he say that made you so upset?"

"He, uh… he said" she bit her lip. "He said that um-"

"Hey, there you are" girl Cassie recognized as one of the girls that was sitting with the Marauders at lunch, stepped on the door. "Are you ready for our lesson?"

"Uh, yeah" Remus said smiling at her.

"Lesson?" Cassie asked confused.

"Oh, Cassie, you know Juliette, right?" Remus said looking at the black-haired witch.

"Hi" the other witch said smiling at her.

"She needed some help with Herbology" he explained to her. "So I offered to tutor her" he said.

"Oh" Cassie said forcing a smile. "Well, that's great. Remus is really good with Herbology" she said shyly.

Cassie couldn't stop looking at the girl. Her auburn, brunette, wavy hair was let down to her shoulders and her makeup was perfectly done. Her uniform was impeccable. Her skirt looked flawless, her blouse was tucked in, and her tie was neatly done under her sweater. Cassie then turned to look at herself. Her hair was up in a messy bun. Half of her blouse was tucked out of her wrinkled skirt. Her tie was loose around her neck and her sweater was tossed somewhere on the ground.

"That's what I've heard" Juliette said smiling at Remus. "So, shall we?"

"Um, yeah, of course" Remus said grabbing his bag. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked Cassie.

"Y-yeah, sure" she said smiling at him. "Don't worry, I got this" she said pointing at the mess behind her.

"Alright, I'll see you at dinner" he said kissing her head before he walked to the door. Cassie tried to smile at the girl who was glaring a little at her before they both walked out of the classroom.

Cassie raised her wand to clean up the rest of the mess before she put everything back in her bag and ran out of the classroom. She quickly made her way to her Common Room, said the password and walked through the portrait to find Peter and Sirius playing a game of Exploding Snap. Ignoring both of them, she ran quickly over to the boys' dorm looking for the one she needed to find.

"Cassie" James said worriedly when he saw the upset girl walking inside. "What's wrong?"

"What do I do?" she asked with her voice breaking a little.

"What?"

"What do I do to make Remus notice me?" she asked him sadly. James felt his heart clench a little bit.

"Cassie, what are you-"

"You know what I mean" she said trying her best not to get tears in her eyes. "I was just… I was with him and then this girl, Juliette; she just came over and said he was tutoring her. Have you _seen_ this girl? She's gorgeous Jamie! Her hair is like perfect and she's really pretty and-" she sighted frustrated. "How could Remus fall for someone like me?" she asked quietly.

"Cassie! If this is about what Sirius said, he was being a jerk" James told her. "He was just upset because he doesn't like the fact of you being with someone. He knows as much as I do that Remus is crazy about you!"

"How do you do it?" she asked all of the sudden, sitting on his bed. "How do you bear Lily rejecting you on a daily basis?"

James remained quiet for a while. "Well, hope is a hard habit to break, Cassie" he said with a sweet smile.

Cassie sighted frustrated and threw herself on her back. "You know, I'm pretty sure this whole _love_ thing is going to kill me" she said closing her eyes. James let out a small laugh and laid down next to her.

"You and me both, Cass. You and me both."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to head down for dinner?" Lily asked Cassie again.

"Yeah, I'm just not hungry" she said sadly. "You guys go" she told them.

"Cassie-"

"Really, girls. I'm fine" she tried to convince them. Lily and Marlene nodded and walked out the door, but Alice didn't move.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked sitting down next to Cassie.

"Yeah, why?" Cassie said.

"Cassie, you've been avoiding Remus, James, Peter and especially your brother" Alice told her. "I know you guys fight all the time but you never stop talking" she pointed out.

"You're very observant" Cassie said looking down.

"What happened?" Alice asked again.

"Nothing, I-" she stopped. "I don't know if I'm ready to talk about it yet, Alice" she told her. "But don't worry. You should head down to dinner" she told her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure" she told her with a small smile. Alice hesitated for a little before she smiled back at her.

"Well, if you need to talk, we're all here for you" she said before she stood up and walked out the door too.

"Ugh, bloody hell! I thought she was never going to leave!"

"AH!" Cassie yelled turning around with her wand in hand ready to attack when she saw her brother's floating head before he removed James' Invisibility Cloak. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What? Can't a brother want to hang out with his beautiful sister anymore?"

"Get out!" Cassie said pointing his wand at him again.

"Come on, Cassie" Sirius started putting his hands up in surrender and that's when Cassie noticed it. "I have ice cream" he said smirking and showing her the two big bowls of ice cream in his hands. One vanilla, his favorite, and one chocolate, her favorite.

"You can give me the ice cream and then you can get out" she said glaring at him.

"Cass, please" Sirius said sadly. "It killed me to see you upset earlier today and you ran off to James" he admitted. "I got the chocolate one for you" he tried. Cassie rolled her eyes at him but grabbed the bowl with chocolate ice cream anyways and then sat on the floor. "Why thank you, Siri, you are the best brother in the entire world!" Sirius mocked Cassie's voice and she turned to glare at him. "Alright, you're still mad at me" he said sitting down in front of her.

"What was your first clue?" she asked with her mouth full of ice cream.

"Come on, Cass, I'm sorry" he said doing his big puppy eyes at her.

"You know I'm not one of your girlfriends to fall for that, don't you?"

"Fine" he said rolling his eyes. "But I really am sorry" he said truthfully. "I didn't mean what I said" he told her.

"I know" she sighted sadly before she grabbed more ice cream. "I'm not mad at _you_. And I know you didn't mean it that way. I was just… upset about what you said" she admitted.

"But I didn't mean-"

"I know" she interrupted him. "But that doesn't mean that you were wrong" she said smiling sadly at her brother.

"Yes, it does! Cassie-" Sirius sighted frustrated. "Look, the only reason I said that is… well, you know that I can get a little uh… protective when it comes to you and boys-"

"No, really? I hadn't noticed" she said sarcastically.

"My point is" Sirius said ignoring her. "I have always been that way because I know what most of those idiots want with you" he continued. "But, the reason why I got so upset about you and Moony is because… well, because I know that he's not one of those idiots and I know that… he's in love with you" he finished.

"What?" Cassie asked genuinely confused.

"I told you, I notice things Cass" he said eating his ice cream. "And, if it were up to me, I would actually choose him or Prongs for you" he told her. "Well, I'd choose Remus but don't tell James that" he said rolling his eyes. "I've seen the way he looks at you and how he takes care of you and how he talks about you and how he moped around all day because you weren't talking to us" he complained. "But I thought I had nothing to worry about because I didn't think you'd like him back and today… I saw it" he continued. "I just… I really dreaded that this day would come" he admitted. "It was easier when you thought boys had fleas" he said scratching his head and making her laugh.

"You know I only thought that because you and Regulus scratch your heads like dogs, right?"

"Still" he said with a small smile. "I just don't want you to get hurt. You know that, right?"

"I know" Cassie said smiling back at him.

"So, are we alright?"

"We're always alright, you idiot" she told him.

"So… are you going to ask him out?"

"No" Cassie simply said.

"What? Why not?"

"You know, I'm not so sure how comfortable I am talking to you about this" she said.

"Hey!" he said offended. "How come you talk to James about it?"

"Because he actually cares and won't make stupid comments about it" she told him.

"Alright, I promise I won't make stupid comments about it" he told her and Cassie sighted.

"I don't want to ask him out so he says yes only to not hurt my feelings like he did with Marlene" she explained. "And I don't want for things to get weird between us" she said. "I wouldn't want to lose him."

"I don't think he would say yes to you only to not hurt your feelings. I honestly think he's in love with you" Sirius told her. "You should ask him to the Ball" he suggested.

Cassie almost spit out the ice cream in her mouth when she heard him. "Yeah, that's a great idea, why don't I ask him to the Ball?" she said sarcastically.

"Well… why not?" Sirius said. Cassie opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. "See?"

"I don't know. I don't want to talk about this right now" she said eating her ice cream. "So, have you asked Roxanne out yet?"

"I thought you didn't want me to ask her out" he said.

"That doesn't mean you're not going to" she pointed out.

"That's true" he said still eating. "But no, I haven't yet" he admitted. "Hey, you know what we should do? We should see who can finish their ice cream first" he suggested. "Like when we were kids, remember?"

Cassie smiled at her brother. "Yes, I remember. I remember beating you every single time" she bragged.

"You wish" Sirius said getting his spoon ready. "Ready?"

"Set" Cassie said.

"Go!" they both yelled at the same time before they started eating their ice cream as fast as they could. Cassie was almost done with her ice cream when she felt an immense pain in her head but she couldn't help laugh at remembering all those times they would do this when they were young.

"Oh, bloody hell! Brain freeze!" Sirius yelled making her laugh. But he had already finished his ice cream. "Ha! Yes! I beat you!" he said with his mouth full of vanilla ice cream. Cassie laughed even harder at the same time her brother did. Sirius threw his arms around her.

"Ew! Get off! You have vanilla all over you!" she said between laughs. Sirius ignored her, pressing his lips against her cheek and blowing on it. "Siri!"

And just like that, it was as if nothing happened and they were back to being two little kids having fun.

* * *

"Settle down everyone" Professor McGonagall said walking inside of the room. "Now, the Winter Ball will be held one week before you leave for Christmas break. Since you are all fourth years and older, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally because the Winter Ball is first and foremost… a dance" she explained. Most of the boys, and Cassie, could be heard groaning from one side of the room. The rest of the girls seemed more excited. "Silence" Professor McGonagall said. "The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizarding world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you in the course of a single evening besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons" she warned.

"Try saying that five times faster" James whispered to Cassie making her let out a snort.

"Now, to dance is to let the body breathe, inside every girl a secret swan slumbers longing to burst forth and take flight" she said looking at the girls and Cassie rolled her eyes.

"Something's about to burst out of Mary but I don't think it's a swan" Sirius whispered to James and they both laughed. Cassie was about to say something to him but McGonagall beat her to it.

"Inside every boy, a lordly lion prepared to prance" she said glaring at Sirius. "Mr. Black, will you be so kind to join me?"

Sirius' smile fell from his face but he quickly put a smirk on. "Why sure, Minnie, I would love to" he said making his way towards the teacher.

Professor McGonagall grabbed him and pulled him to the middle of the room. "Now, place your right hand on my waist" she told him. Cassie was trying her best not to burst out into a laugh.

"W-where?" Sirius asked trying not to sound nervous.

"My waist, Mr. Black" Professor McGonagall repeated. Sirius did as he was told and heard a wolf-whistle coming from the crowd. He turned to glare at the exact direction where he knew it came from and saw Remus trying to hide a smirk. "Now, bend your arm. Mr. Filch" she said. Filch put on the record player and the music started. "And… one, two, three… one, two, three…" she repeated dancing around with Sirius who was not having the best time of his life.

"Promise me you will never let him forget this" Cassie leaned down to whisper to Remus and James.

"Never" they both said at the same time.

"Now, everybody, come together" Professor McGonagall said as she kept on dancing. James was about to walk over to Lily when Cassie stopped him.

"Hey, _ask_ her if she wants to dance, don't tell her she's dancing with you" she told him.

"What?"

"Just trust me" she whispered. He considered it for a moment before he made his way to the red-haired witch.

"Hey, um, Evans" he said with a smile. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Lily was ready to reply no when she saw past James and noticed Cassie. She made eyes at her begging her to say yes and she rolled her eyes. "Sure, Potter. Why not?" she said.

"Really?" James asked sounding more excited than he intended to.

"But no funny business" she told him.

"Promise" James said smiling and grabbing her hand before they started dancing.

"Well, that's new" Remus said dumbfounded.

"Um, w-would you like to dance with me?" Cassie suddenly asked him. She could start there. And then, maybe she could ask him out.

Remus smiled at her. "Well, of course. That's the only way I'm a good dancer, isn't it?" he said smirking at her.

"I didn't say it like that" she said with a small laugh. Remus grabbed her hand and placed his other hand on her waist before they started dancing.

Before they knew it, they were back to the position they had been not so long ago. Cassie rested her head on Remus' chest and he rested his on her head. She saw James winking at her from the other side of the room and felt a small blush creeping onto cheeks. The image of the two of them dancing in the Ball came back to her mind like a few days back. She really wanted to go with him to the Ball. She was going to gather up all of her Gryffindor courage and ask him out eventually.

"So, are you excited about the Ball?" Remus asked her snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, I guess" she replied.

"You guess?" he said with a chuckle. "You love dancing" he said.

"Well, yes. If I have someone to dance with" she said.

"I'm sure a lot of guys will ask you to the dance" he said, trying not to sound jealous.

"I don't think so" she said with a small laugh and looking down. "Most of the boys don't come my way after what happened with Augustus" she started. Remus immediately turned to glare at the boy dancing with a girl on the other side of the room. He smirked a little when he saw he still had some scars from the boils and pimples Sirius had given to his face. "I actually prefer it that way. I wouldn't want to go with any of them" she told him.

"N-no?" Remus asked pleased and curious. He felt Cassie shaking her head against his chest. "Wouldn't you like to go with anyone?"

"I didn't say that" she said looking down. "I just don't think that the guy I want to go with will want to go with me" muttered sadly before she felt Remus step on her. "Ouch!"

"S-sorry, sorry" he apologized and they went back to their position. "There's uh- there's a g-guy you want to go with?"

"Um, y-yeah" she said nervously. "I'm kind of hoping he'll ask me" she admitted.

Remus felt his heart breaking little by little. Cassie liked someone. She wanted to go with someone to the Ball. "Who is he?"

Cassie felt her heart stopping. She couldn't tell him yet. Not there, in front of her entire house. "Uh, I'd rather not say" she told him.

"Ow, come on Cass" Remus complained. "Why not?"

"Well, like I said, I'm not sure he'd want to go with me, so I'd rather not have him finding out just yet" she told him.

"How about this?" Remus suggested. If Cassie liked someone, he at least wanted to know who the guy was. "I'll ask you some questions and I'll try to guess" he suggested.

Cassie bit her lip nervously before she gave in. "I guess that seems fair" she said.

"Alright, is he in our house?"

"Yes" Cassie replied.

"So, he's here?" he said looking around.

"He is" Cassie said blushing a little.

"Is he on the Quidditch team?" he asked knowing then it would be narrowed down to five since there were seven people on the team and it wasn't either her or her brother.

"No, he isn't on the Quidditch team" she told him. Remus was relived and annoyed at the same time. There were still too many guys to pick from.

"Is he in our year?"

"Yes" Cassie replied.

"Do I like him?"

"Excuse me?" she asked looking up at him.

"Do I like him?" he repeated. "I mean, do I get along with him?"

Cassie couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "I believe you're quite fond of him" she replied.

"Is it James?"

"James is in the Quidditch team" she pointed out. "And ew, he's like Sirius" she said with a little laugh. Remus' heart felt another clench. Whenever Cassie said stuff like that, he felt that it was also addressed to him. Cassie only looked at her like a brother. "So, are you asking anyone to the Ball?" she asked curiously hoping she could get a bit of information.

"Oh, I don't know" Remus said getting a little nervous. "The girl I had in mind wants to go with some other guy so…"

"Oh" Cassie said feeling a little sad. "Well, I um, I'm sure that if you ask her, she'd be stupid not to say yes" Cassie said with a small smile.

"Alright, everyone" Professor McGonagall said putting down the music. "That is it for today, you are all dismissed" she announced before walking out of the room.

"That was f-fun" Cassie said shyly as she pulled away from Remus. "I'm sure that whoever ends up going with you will be really lucky to have you as dance partner" she said.

"Y-yeah, yours too" he said trying to smile too.

"Uh, we should g-go. We're going to be late for Charms" she said before she walked over to Lily and they started walking away.

Remus watched her walk off feeling his heart racing every second. He had to ask her to the Ball before this 'other guy' did. He couldn't let her get away.

"Hey, mate" James said catching up to him. "You ready?"

"Yeah" Remus answered thinking more about being ready to tell Cassie than being ready to go to class. "I think I am."

* * *

 **A/N: so... there it is! :D it's a little shorter than the previous ones but I'll try to post the next one in a few days... anyways... I hope you guys liked it! :) as usual, remember suggestions and ideas are always welcome and, as much as I love you guys following and favoriting me, I really love your reviews even more! ;) so please let me know what you think and thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	9. Autumn Leaves

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hello again, sorry this took me a little more than I thought but here it is! :D now, as usual, I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys are THE BEST! a special thanks to Theharrypotteraddict for your message, thank you to imketys I am SO happy you like my story so much, rachelle8 thank you SO much for your review I am soo glad you like it, Badwolfdoesthedrunkgiraffe thank you! I am so glad you're liking the story :D aand last but not least, Hiimprettyawesomehowboutyou (love your name btw) thank you so much for your review! I am really glad you like it! and now, here's chapter 9 enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _Do you ever wonder if the stars shine out for you?  
Float down, like autumn leaves  
Hush now, close your eyes before the sleep  
And you're miles away  
And yesterday you were here with me  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"I can't do this!"

"You have to!"

"But what if she says no?"

"Remus, she wouldn't say no. She likes you" Marlene tried to convince him.

"You're just saying that" he said rolling his eyes.

"No, I'm not! You should really ask her to the Ball. Is the perfect timing" she replied.

"Marlene, I'm not sure. Cassie is my best friend. If she says no-"

"Why would she say no, Remus?"

"Because she only looks at me as a friend" he told her.

"No, she doesn't" both of them turned around to see Alice and Lily standing behind them.

"Alice! I told you to be quiet" Lily whispered to her.

"I'm sorry! But I can't just stand here and watch as two of our friends are completely oblivious to their feelings for each other" Alice complained.

"Were you two spying on us?" Remus asked them.

"Not important" Alice simply said before both girls sat in front of them. "Do you fancy Cassie?"

Remus rolled his eyes annoyed. "I think I might regret telling you this-"

"I didn't hear a no" Lily said smirking.

"He's in love with her" Marlene told them.

"WHAT?!" Alice and Lily yelled at the same time before Mrs. Prince told them to be quiet.

"Marlene!" Remus whispered angrily.

"What? Maybe they can help me convince you that she feels the same way" Marlene defended herself.

"She doesn't feel the same way" Remus said rolling his eyes.

"I think she does" Lily told him.

"I know she does" Alice said.

"How do you know?" Marlene asked her.

"Well, it's obvious! Have you seen the way Cassie acts around him? She calls you Remmy, she blushes every time he smiles at her-"

"She's always, _always_ in a good mood when he's around" Lily added.

"He's the only one that I've seen her share chocolate with" Alice pointed out.

"That's great, just keep on talking as if I'm not here" Remus muttered.

"Oh, Merlin! I can't believe I didn't see it" Marlene said realizing it for the first time. "She's in love with you!"

"What?" Remus asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Cassie is in love with you, Remus" Alice told him.

"No, she's not!"

"Yes, she is" Alice told him. "Don't you see? Why do you think she's never liked any other guy that's tried to ask her out?"

"She's always looking for books or chocolates or things to give you" Marlene pointed out.

"Merlin's Beard!" Lily said a little too loud before she was silenced by Mrs. Prince once again. "Sorry" she apologized. "The Amortentia Potion!" she told the other three.

"What about it?" Remus asked confused.

"Do you remember what she said she smelled on the first day of Potions?"

"No" Marlene said.

"Flowers?" Alice tried.

"Tulips" Remus corrected her and the three girls turned to look dreamily at him. "Those are… her favorite flowers" he said blushing and looking down.

"That's adorable" Marlene told him and he rolled his eyes.

"Do you remember what _else_ she smelled?" Lily asked him.

"Chocolates and old books" Remus said confused when the three girls smirked at him. "What?"

"Remus! _You_ smell like chocolate and old books" Alice said laughing a little.

"I do not" he argued.

"Yeah, you do" Marlene told him.

"Don't you see? Cassie smelled _you_ " Lily said happily. "Well, you holding tulips."

Remus opened his mouth to say something but closed it back again, finding himself incapable of having something to say. Did Cassie really smell him? _Him?_

Unbeknownst the group of friends, a similar argument was being held on the other side of the Library. The _restricted_ side of the Library.

"Alright, one more time" James told her. Cassie sighted.

"Remmy-"

"No, no ' _Remmy'_ " Sirius said mocking her voice. "Remus!"

"What difference does it make?"

"This is business, Cassie! Now, focus" James told her. Cassie rolled her eyes but tried again.

"Remus" she started over. "Would you care to um accompany me-"

"Accompany? Really?" Sirius said laughing. "You sound like mother!"

"Well, what do you want from me? I have never asked a guy out before!" Cassie said freaking out.

"I am actually very pleased to hear that" Sirius muttered.

"Cassie, this is Moony we're talking about! He's your best friend! Just be yourself" he advised her. "Just simple, would you go to the Ball with me?"

"I changed my mind! I don't want to do it" Cassie said putting her head in her hands.

"Cassie! You have to do it!" James told her.

"But what if he says no?" she asked nervously.

"He's not going to say no" Sirius said rolling his eyes.

"But what if-"

"No buts!" James said grabbing her by her shoulders. "You can do this! You are going to ask Remus to the dance and he is going to say yes and you are going to go to the dance together and dance madly in love and then you're going to become a couple and you're gonna get married and you'll have Padfoot and me to thank for it so you'll names your kids James Jr. and Sirius Jr." he told her.

"Hey! How come they name the first one after you?" Sirius complained.

"Because is only logical Pads, I'm Cassie's best friend, Moony loves me and I got them together-"

"I'm her brother!"

"Enough!" Cassie yelled. "Nobody is getting married and _nobody_ is naming my kids after you!"

"Why not?" both boys complained at the same time and she rolled her eyes.

"Ugh! Ok, ok" she said taking a deep breath. "Remus, would you like to go to the Ball with me?"

"Yes! That's it!" James said triumphal.

"Really?" she asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, that works" Sirius told her.

"It's perfect" James said excitedly.

"So, when should I ask him?" she said nervously.

"Well, if I were you I'd find a moment when the two of you are alone" James told her.

"Ew! Mate, I don't want to think of Moony and my sister being alone!"

"Padfoot, we were over this! Move along! You said you'd be fine with it and you'd be supportive!"

"Well, it comes and goes. I wouldn't trust it" Sirius said childishly.

"I cannot believe I am still having this conversation with you two" Cassie said putting her face in her palm.

"Hey! We're all you've got" Sirius argued. "You said you didn't want to tell the girls" he remembered her.

"Only because they get excited about every little thing and then they want to talk about _feelings_ and stuff and they yell a lot" she said rolling her eyes a little. "Alright, so I just have to figure out when to ask him" she said nervously.

"Can you do that later? If we're late again for Divination, Professor said she'd give us detention this Friday and I already have detention with Sluggy" Sirius said grabbing his bag and James did the same thing.

"We'll figure this later, alright, Cass?" James told her. "Just, don't over think it" he said kissing her head before he walked away. Sirius walked over to her.

"I know I give you a hard time about this but, I really do want you to be happy. You know that, right?" he admitted.

"I know, Siri" she said smiling up at him. Sirius smiled back and kissed her head too before he walked after James.

Cassie grabbed her bag and started making their way out of the Library when she bumped into someone.

"Cassie" Remus said a little nervous and the three girls behind him tried to hide their smirks before they decided to walk away to another aisle.

"Remmy" she said getting a little nervous. "Hi" she said smiling.

"Hi" he said with a nervous smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just um… looking for books for my potion" she quickly said. "What about you?"

"Uh, I was helping Lily with something" he told her. "Ready for Ancient Runes?"

"Right! Um, yeah" she told him as they made their way to their class.

"Here, let me help you" he said grabbing some of the books from her hands. "You've got a lot of books" he said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, well, since none of the other ones were working, I thought these ones might" she told him.

"Are you still not telling me what you're brewing?"

"Nope" she simply said.

"Does anybody know?"

"Professor Slughorn knows" she said with a little smile.

"Funny" Remus said trying to hide his smile.

"Hey guys" Frank said coming their way. "Have you seen Alice?"

"I think she was at the Library, mate" Remus told him.

"There she is" Cassie said pointing at the girl that just entered the class. Frank smiled at her and walked away from Remus and Cassie. Cassie saw as he grabbed Alice's bag and led her to their table holding hands the entire time. "They're sweet, aren't they?"

"They seem really happy" Remus replied.

"And you said they wouldn't become a couple, remember?" Cassie mocked him.

"Yeah, you were right" Remus said rolling his eyes. They turned to look at the couple and saw Alice's smile get bigger and she threw her arms around Frank happily.

"What's that all about?" Remus asked confused.

"Frank just asked her to the Ball" Cassie said smiling sadly.

"How do you now?"

"James told me he was going to ask her today" she explained.

"Oh" Remus said feeling nervous all over. "H-has the mystery guy asked you to the Ball yet?"

"Um- uh" Cassie said looking down. "N-no. I don't think he's going to" she told him.

"Why not?"

"Well, I heard he wants to go with another girl so…" she said trying not to sound so disappointed.

"Why would he? If he gets to go with you, he'd be an idiot to go with anyone else" Remus said without really thinking and making Cassie turn around to look at him a little shocked.

"Y-you really think so?" she asked with a small smile.

"Of course, Cassie" he told her smiling back.

"Um- do you think that if I ask him, he would… say yes?"

Remus felt his smiling falling from his face. _Bloody brilliant, Remus! Just toss her into his arms already!_ "He'd be an idiot if he doesn't" he told her honestly.

Cassie's smile got bigger and she took a deep breath. "Um, Remmy- um would you-?"

"Sorry I'm late, everyone" the Professor came in interrupting Cassie's almost invite. "Please open your books to page fifty-four so we may begin" he said.

Cassie turned to see Remus had already opened his book and started reading. He noticed her looking at him and questioned her. "I'm sorry, were you about to say something?"

"Uh, no" she said nervously. "Never mind, it can wait" she told him with a sad smile before they both went back to their books.

Cassie was once again lost in her thoughts throughout the entire class. Sure, it was usual that she would easily stop paying attention in Ancient Runes, but she couldn't help thinking about ways to ask Remus. According to James, she should just get on with it and blurt it out. It was easy for him to say, he asked out Lily on a daily basis, and before that, he had no trouble asking girls out. Same was with Sirius. She had never asked a guy out before. She had never even been asked out by a guy before. Properly, at least.

"Cassie?" Remus snapped her out of her daze.

"Y-yeah?"

"Class is over" he informed her. "You spaced out again, didn't you?"

"What? N-no! of course not" she said as they got up and grabbed their books.

"Oh, really? Then what was the class about?"

"You know, um- about uh- unicorns?"

"Nice try, that was last week" Remus said trying not to laugh.

"Fine, sorry I might have gotten a little lost" she admitted.

"What were you thinking about?" Remus asked curiously.

"Um… about the… Ball, actually" she confessed looking down. Remus could see her cheeks turning red.

"Oh" he said clearing his throat. He had to do it. He couldn't let her get away. "Um about that, Cassie" he told her. "I was uh wondering" he said letting out a nervous laugh.

"Yes, Remmy?"

"W-well, I was um-" he said putting his hand behind his neck nervously. Cassie found it adorable, really. "Um- huh" he said with a nervous smile. "I was thinking that uh –that maybe um- you would like uh-"

"Hey! Where have you been, you lazy bum?!" Sirius yelled interrupting them once again and tossing Cassie's broom at her. "Quidditch practice, NOW! Move it!"

"Oh, sorry, I um- I have to go" she said smiling nervously at Remus. "What were you going to tell me?"

"Um, I-"

"Let's go, Cass!" James yelled behind Sirius.

"Don't worry about it" Remus said smiling sadly at the girl. "We can talk later" he said trying not to sound so disappointed.

"Are you sure?"

"CASSIOPEIA! McLaggen is going to kill us if you don't move your ass!" Sirius yelled.

"Yeah, is alright" he said smiling. "You should go" he told her kissing her head. Cassie smiled sadly at him and turned around to walk over to Sirius and James.

"Thanks a lot you bloody idiots" she said bumping her shoulder with Sirius' and he turned to look at James who was equally confused.

"Hey! What did we do?"

* * *

Over the next few days, Cassie had tried every opportunity to ask Remus to the Ball and Remus had tried to do the same. They kept getting interrupted, though. Cassie even waited a few nights in the Common Room hoping that he was going to come down, but with no luck. The day after the full-moon, she stood by his side the entire time, but so had Madame Pomfrey, since it had been a rough night. Because of that, in the following days, she buried herself in the books to try and continue doing the Wolfsbane Potion, so it was hard for Remus to coincide with her.

"Alright, this is it" James whispered to her at the end of Herbology. "We are going to walk ahead of everyone and I volunteered you and Moony to stay back and clean up-"

"You what?" Cassie said a little upset.

"Professor Sprout was very pleased to hear that" Sirius told her. "Gave our house twenty-five points!"

"So, you'd be alone with Moony, and you can finally ask him" James told her.

"Guys, I don't know if I can do this" she said getting nervous all over again.

"Come on, Cass! You can do it!"

"Alright, that is it for today" Professor Sprout announced. "You are all dismissed and Mr. Lupin, Miss Black, thank you so much for volunteer to clean up" she said smiling before she walked out of the Green Houses followed by the rest of the students.

"Wait, what?" Remus asked confused.

"Uh, she sort of… asked me if we could and I might have said yes" she said biting her lip.

"Oh, alright" he said smiling at her and she sighted in relief. She rolled her eyes when she saw James winking at her from the door before he left too. "We should probably start then" he told her.

"Oh, right" she said smiling and they both started cleaning up the class. Cassie felt her heart beating faster every second. She wasn't even sure how could Remus not hear it from where he was standing. "Ouch!" she felt something stinging her finger and looked down to see she had pinched herself with a Spiky Prickly Plant.

"Cassie" Remus said making his way over to her. "Are you alright?" he asked grabbing out his wand and pointing it at her finger.

"Yeah- ouch! Bloody hell, Remus! That stings!" she said taking her finger away from him.

"Oh, don't be such a baby! You've gotten worse injuries playing Quidditch" he said putting his hand out so she would put her finger back.

"Still" she said childishly.

"I'll give you a piece of chocolate if you let me heal it before it gets infected" he told her and she quickly stuck her finger out again. She bit her tongue as Remus finished placing the spell to cure it. He then grabbed a bandage from his pocket and placed it around her finger. "See? All done" he told her smiling.

"Thanks" she said returning the smile. "Is it me or are you always attending my clumsiness?" she asked him all of the sudden. This was a recurrent scene for both of them. Cassie would usually get hurt, or fall down, or get a potion exploding on her face, and Remus would always be there to help her.

"Don't worry, I don't mind it" he said winking at her. She felt her knees shaking a little but did her best to keep her calm. They both quickly finished cleaning up the class and started heading back for the castle.

Cassie was once again having a massive war inside her mind. She really wanted to ask Remus to the Ball. But, what if he said no? Or what if he said yes, and then they ended up having a bad time at the Ball? What if he laughs at her? What if he hates her? What if things get so awkward that she won't be able to remain friends with him or even being in the same room with him? She shook all of those thoughts out of her mind when another one came instead. What if he said yes and they had a great time at the Ball? What if Remus did feel the same way about her? What if he wanted to ask her but he was having the same argument with himself that she was having right now.

"Cassie?" Remus snapped her out of her thoughts once again when they reached the castle.

"Y-yeah?"

"Are you alright? You've been awfully quiet" he pointed out.

"Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine" she said sighting. This was it, it was now or never.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing in particular" she said with a small smile. Remus shrugged his shoulders and let it go. "Hey, uh, Remmy, could I ask you something?" Cassie said feeling her heart racing a little faster.

Remus turned to looked at her and smiled a little. "Sure, Cassie, what is it?"

"Um- uh, well" Cassie said nervously placing her hair behind her ear. She could feel her heart was going to jump out of her chest any second. She spotted James, Sirius and Peter on the other side of the hallway. The first two were encouraging her to go on. _Get it out. You can do this._ She took a deep breath when she saw Remus arching an eyebrow at her."I was uh wondering if maybe-"

"Hey, Remus" Juliette came over to them and clung herself to Remus' arm. "Oh, hi Cassie" she said smiling at her.

"Hi" Cassie said with her smile falling a little when she saw Juliette slipping her hand in Remus'.

"Hey, guys!" James said walking over to them and throwing his arm around Cassie's shoulders trying to break the tension.

"Hey" Sirius coming over too along with Peter.

"Oh, hi boys" Juliette said smiling at them. "So, have you told them yet?" she asked looking back at Remus who smiled a little nervous.

"Tell us what?" Peter asked confused.

"We are going to the Ball together!" Juliette said excited smiling at them.

Cassie felt her heart stop before it broke into a million pieces. James turned to look at Sirius who looked awkwardly back at him, neither of them really knowing what to say.

"I- I'm sorry, I uh… spaced out a little, you.. you're what?" Cassie asked not really wanting to believe her ears. Remus turned to smile sadly at her.

"Um, Juliette and I are going to the Ball together" he repeated.

"Y-yeah, I-um that's what I thought I heard" she said trying to smile. Sirius and James turned to look at Cassie with the same sad expression just waiting for her reaction. "Well, uh t-that's um- uh that's great. I'm uh- happy for y-you" she said trying her best to put a smile on her face. She was used to fake smiles. She did it every time her mother made her go to the Malfoy's house.

"That's grand, mate" Peter congratulated them.

"Yeah, congratulations" James said putting up his best smile too.

"Really… just… brilliant" Sirius said trying his best to smile instead of punching Remus on the face.

"What's brilliant?" Lily asked walking over to the group with Marlene and Alice next to her.

"Remus is going to the Ball with Juliette" Sirius informed them a little upset.

"You WHAT?" the three girls turned to look furious at Remus for some reason before they realized it.

"I mean- uh" Marlene started. "That's wonderful" she said smiling at the girl.

"Isn't it?" Juliette said smiling even wider and gluing herself closer to Remus.

"I gotta go" Cassie mumbled to herself when as she tried to walk past the group. "I can't breathe!"

"Cassie, wait" Remus stopped her. "Wasn't there something you wanted to ask me?"

Cassie turned around nervously seeing all eight pair of eyes on her. James and Sirius being the only ones that understood perfectly what was going on. She needed to get out of there before she started crying. "Um, r-right" she said biting her lip and feeling her heart aching. "Don't worry about it. It um- wasn't important anyways" she said looking down before she ran out of the scene.

"Um, that was a little weird" Juliette said confused. "Oh, I'm going to be late for Potions" she told them. "I'll see you guys later" she said kissing Remus on the cheek and she walked away from them.

"Uh, Remus, could I talk to you for a second?" Marlene said suddenly.

"Um- actually" Remus started but was interrupted by the girl grabbing his arm before he could even respond and dragging him away from the rest of the group.

They were quickly followed by Alice and Lily. The other three boys just looked confused at each other. Once they found an empty classroom they walked inside.

"What the bloody hell, Lupin?" she asked fuming. The other two girls seemed to be as upset as she was.

"I, uh-"

"You are going to the Ball with Juliette?" Alice snapped at him.

"What about Cassie?" Lily asked him.

"I know, I was going to ask her but-" Remus started. "She wanted to go with some other guy" he said sadly. "So, Juliette asked me and I thought why not-?"

"What? She doesn't want to go with some other guy!"

"Yes, she does, alright? She told me she wanted to go with someone but wasn't sure if he was going to ask her" he told them.

"So? _You_ should have asked her!" Alice told him.

"So she would say no?"

"She wouldn't have said no!" Marlene argued with him.

"Who is this ' _guy_ '?" Lily asked.

"I don't know" he admitted. "She wouldn't tell me. She said that she didn't know if he liked her so she didn't want people to know!" he explained. "She just said he was from our house and from our year and he wasn't on the Quidditch team" he said.

"Uh, hello! That could be you!" Lily said frustrated.

"What? No! Of course it wasn't me!" he said trying to convince himself.

"How do you know that?"

"Because Cassie doesn't like me that way!"

"Why are you so sure?"

"I just am, alright?" he said frustrated. "She looks at me the same way she looks at James, like a friend! So the sooner I accept that the faster I can move on from it, alright?" he asked frustrated. "If she wants to go with some other guy to the Ball I have to respect that because she's my friend and so should you" he said upset before he walked out of the room leaving the three girls behind.

"I honestly don't know which one of them is more stubborn" Alice told the other two girls.

"I know! How are we _ever_ going to get them together?" Marlene asked.

"I think it's time" Lily told them.

"You don't mean-?"

"I'm afraid so" Lily announced. "It's time to get Sirius and James involved."

* * *

Days went by and Sirius couldn't help to notice the changes on Cassie. She barely spoke, she wasn't eating, he was sure she wasn't sleeping either and he was starting to get worried. He had tried everything. Even Regulus had tried talking to her but she would either be buried in the Library or in her dorm. Sirius had found her crying a couple of times and that's what worried him the most. Cassie rarely cried, even in front of him. But when she did, she would _always_ go to him. He didn't get it. She wasn't even this upset when Remus had gone out with Marlene. He had to do something about it, he just didn't know what. She wasn't only avoiding Remus, she was avoiding everyone. Remus had even asked both Sirius and James if they knew what was wrong with her but they said they didn't know. And now, here he was sitting outside of the Library, waiting for Cassie to get out. He was going to make her talk to him weather she wanted or not.

"Cassie!" Sirius yelled when he spotted her walking past him. "Cassie!" he said getting up and walking after her. "Would you stop? Blimey! You run fast for someone with short legs!"

"Siri, just leave me alone" she said not even turning around. Sirius could hear her voice breaking.

"Cassie" he said catching up with her. He placed his hands on her shoulders so she would stop running but she wasn't facing him. "Stop! Stop! You have to stop this!"

Cassie tried to walk past him again, but he didn't let her. He felt his heart breaking a little when he saw how puffy her eyes were. "Sirius I want to be alone-"

"Well, I'm not going to leave you alone! I'm worried about you! You don't talk, you don't eat, you don't sleep-"

"I do sleep!" she snapped back at him but Sirius saw the dark circles under her eyes.

"Cassie" he said softly. "Please, talk to me" he begged her. Cassie could see the concern in his eyes and she felt bad that she had isolated herself from everyone, including Sirius. She was only mad at Remus. She didn't have to take it on everyone else.

"I was going to ask him" she said quietly. Her eyes filled with tears, which had been the only thing they'd been doing for the last days. "That day. I was just about to ask him if he wanted to go to the Ball with me and he-" she stopped when the tears started to fall down her cheeks.

Sirius quickly wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer to him. Cassie let everything out and started crying hysterically on his chest. "Shh" he tried to calm her down running his hand up and down her back. "I know" he said kissing her head. He let out a sight in relief. At least she was getting it out. "It's gonna be ok" he tried to tell her.

"Is not f-fair" she said between sobs. "I d-don't- I don't wan-t to f-feel this way-"

"I know" he said continuing to hug her. "I'm so sorry, Cass" he said kissing her head. "Do you want me to kill him for you?"

"No" Cassie said letting out a little chuckle. "But thanks" she said wiping away a few tears. "I don't even know why I'm crying! Is stupid, really" she said looking down and rubbing her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater.

"Is not stupid, Cassie" Sirius said softly.

"Yes, it is" she said quietly.

"Come on" Sirius said grabbing her hand.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see" he said with a small smile. Cassie was so exhausted; she let him lead her wherever he was going. They walked along in silence until they reached the Kitchens.

"Sirius why-?" she didn't get to finish her question because Sirius opened the door and revealed the house-elves making endless desserts with chocolate on them and James on one of the tables smiling at them.

"About time" he said waving for them to come over.

"What is this?"

"Miss Black, Mr. Black" one of the house-elves greeted them happily. "Mr. Potter is waiting for you" he said pointing at James on the table. "He mentioned Miss Black was upset so we made all of her favorites!"

Cassie felt the corners of her mouth lifting up a little. "Y-you guys did this for me?" she asked looking at James and then at Sirius.

"We may not get as excited about every little thing like the girls do" James started.

"Or talk about feelings" Sirius continued.

"And we don't yell as much as them" James added.

"But, we do know that this is what we do when you're upset" Sirius finished. Cassie threw her arms around Sirius and he hugged her back, kissing her head. She then ran over to James and embraced him in a similar hug which he gladly returned.

"Thank you, guys" she said smiling at both of them.

The three friends started eating everything that was in their way while James and Sirius made their best effort to make Cassie laugh and forget about everything that had gone on in the hallway. Cassie got to a point where her stomach hurt really bad for laughing so hard at something James had said.

"Ugh, bullocks! I have to go! I'm going to be late for detention with Sluggy" Sirius said getting up.

"Only you would manage to get detention by being late to detention" Cassie said with a small smile.

"Are you going to be ok?" he asked looking at his sister.

"Yeah" she said with a small smile. "I promise I'll come to either one of you if I'm not feeling ok" she told him. Sirius smiled a little at her and kissed her forehead.

"I love you" he told her.

"I love you too" she said before he made his way out of the kitchen. Cassie turned back to James as they started eating their sixth piece of cheesecake.

"So, do you plan on running away from Moony every time you see him?" Cassie's smile quickly fell. "Come on, Cass. You have to talk about it and we both know Padfoot wasn't going to talk about it without killing Moony in the process" he told her.

"I don't do that" she argued but James only looked at her with eyes that said 'Yes, you do'. "I don't know what else to do Jamie" she said sadly. "I just… it hurts, you know?" she said feeling down once again. "I mean, I really thought for a second that I could ask Remus and he could say yes but I waited too long" she told him with her voice breaking. "And now he's going with Juliette and they're going to go to the dance together and they will dance madly in love and then they're going to become a couple and they're gonna get married and they'll name your kids James Jr. and Sirius Jr." she finished crying once more at the end. James quickly wrapped his arms around Cassie.

"Cassie" he said softly. "Come on, that's not going to happen" he tried to cheer her up. "I mean, they are going to the Ball together but, maybe it won't work" he said.

"But what if it does?" she asked looking at him.

James looked sadly at her. "Well, you shouldn't worry about it ahead of time" he said brushing his hand on her back. "And besides, I don't want James Jr. to have her as a mother and I doubt she'd name her son Sirius Jr." he tried to cheer her up managing to get a small chuckle from her, "It'll be ok, Cass" he said with a warm smile as she wiped away her tears.

"Thanks, Jamie" she said resting her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a while until James spoke again.

"You know, I asked Lily to the Ball today" he told her.

"Really? How did it go?" Cassie asked curiously.

James let out a sad sight. "She's going with Diggory" he informed her.

"Ugh! Amos?" Cassie said annoyed. The guy was good looking but the problem was that he knew just how good looking he was and he was a bit of a jerk because of it. "Why?"

"Beats me" James said shrugging his shoulders.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing" he replied. "He asked her first. He won fair and square" he said.

"Wow, that's very mature of you, Jamie" she said with a small smile.

"I know, I'm growing up" he said with a small laugh.

"So, are you going to ask someone else to the Ball then?"

"Actually, I kind of had a girl in mind" he said smiling and getting Cassie's full attention. "See, there's this girl… very pretty. She's smart and funny, I think the funniest girl I know" he started. "Wicked Quidditch player" he continued. "And well, the guy she wanted to go with just happens to have a date already so, I thought… maybe she'd like to go to the Ball with her best friend and we could still have a good time" he said smiling at her. "What do you say?"

Cassie smiled sweetly at him. "Jamie" she said really touched by his gesture. "That's very nice of you, but you don't have to do that" she said blushing a little.

"Well, I want to" he told her. "I think I'd have a lot of fun with her, really" he said.

"But, you could go with anybody you'd like. I'm sure any girl would die to go with you" she told him.

"And I know for a fact that a lot of guys have asked you but yet you still said no" he answered. "Come on, Cassie. It'll be fun" he tried to convince her.

Cassie thought about it for a moment. It was better than to not go to the dance at all. And she did have fun with James. She felt her smile getting bigger little by little when she finally made up her mind.

"Alright" she told him. "I'm in!"

* * *

"Hey, look who's joining civilization again" Sirius mocked Cassie when she joined them for breakfast the next day. At least it was a Saturday and she could get the sleep she had lost in the past few days.

"I'm only here because I'm hungry" she said a little cranky. "Where's Peter?" Not that she cared, is just that he was always kissing James' ass.

"He's at the Hufflepuff table" James pointed. "With his date for the Ball-"

"What? Peter has a date?" Cassie asked trying not to sound so shocked.

"Yeah" Sirius told her. "We were just as surprised as you were" he said.

"Well, good for him" she muttered as she took another bite.

"Hi guys" Juliette said sitting down along with Remus and joining the group.

The two boys greeted her politely but Cassie tried her best not to roll her eyes. This had been a recurrent thing in the past week. Juliette would sort of invite herself to join them whenever she felt like it and she would only talk about the Ball. Usually, Cassie would stand up and leave, but she was hungry so she rested her head on her hand and tried no not speak unless she was spoken to.

"So, Cassie, do have a date for the Ball yet?" _Bullocks!_

Cassie turned to look at her, a little taken aback. "Uh- what?"

"Well, I was curious because there are a lot of boys in my house that really want to go with you. I could set you up with them, if you'd like" Juliette told her.

"Oh, that's um- very nice of you but-"

"I also know a few guys from Hufflepuff who might be interested" she continued.

Cassie sighted a little sad. She didn't really want to admit that she still didn't have a date. Well, technically she did but she was sure James was only being nice. Even Peter had a date, for Merlin's sake. "W-well, I uh- um- you see-" Cassie bit her lip nervously. She wasn't entirely sure why she didn't want Remus to know.

"She's going with me" James suddenly blurted out in an obvious tone.

"What?" Sirius asked confused.

"What?" Cassie asked looking at him.

"What?" Remus asked trying not to sound so angry.

"What?" James finally said at the three people looking at him.

"You guys are going together?" Juliette said smiling.

"Uh- y-yeah" Cassie muttered with a nervous smile.

"That's wonderful!" Juliette replied.

"Y-yeah, um- why?" Remus asked all of the sudden.

"Why what?" James asked confused.

"Why are you taking Cassie to the Ball?" he snapped a little. Cassie felt a little offended.

"I don't know, she's a pretty girl" James said casually. "Every pretty girl deserves to go to a Ball" he told her. "Don't you think, Moony?" James said enjoying how Remus was about to snap his fork in half with his bare hand.

"Oww, that is so sweet" Juliette said while both Sirius and Cassie looked at James with the same arched eyebrow and stunned looks on their faces.

"Uh-huh, um when did uh- when did this happen?" Remus asked getting more upset.

"Yesterday" James continued throwing his arm around Cassie's shoulder.

"Oh, I um- I assumed you'd be going with Lily" Remus snapped a little.

"She's going with Diggory" James said shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh, really? She's lucky! He's really handsome, don't you think?" Juliette said smiling at Cassie and earning a small glare from James.

"He's not really my type" Cassie said as she continued to eat.

"And James is your type?" Remus asked a little harsh and Cassie turned to look confused at him.

"Uh" she bit her bottom lip nervously. "I um- have to g-go" she said grabbing her bag. "I s-said I'd help Regulus with um… something" she said getting up and falling in the process but James caught her by her waist.

James noticed Remus' face and decided to taunt him a little more. "Careful, love" he said smirking at Cassie. Cassie turned to glare at him before she finished standing up.

"Right, um, see you guys l-later" she muttered before walking away.

Remus got even more irritated and decided that he wasn't done with this conversation. He stood up and was about to walk after Cassie when he felt someone stopping him.

"Where are you going?" Juliette asked confused.

"I uh- I need to talk to her" he simply said and walked after Cassie. He heard Juliette calling him back but he ignored her. "Cassie!" he yelled when he spotted his friend at the end of the hallway and making her way outside. "Cassie!" he yelled louder when she didn't turn back but she kept on ignoring him. "Cassiopei-"

"DON'T call me that!" she turned around glaring at him once they were outside. Thankfully most of the people were still at breakfast so there weren't too many people paying attention to them.

"Then stop! I'm trying to talk to you" he snapped a little when he caught up with her.

"Yes, well I have to meet Regulus-"

"Stop lying! Regulus was still eating at the Great Hall" Remus snapped at her.

"Ugh! Why is it that you notice every little thing-?"

"Why are you going with James to the Ball?" he blurted out.

"Because he asked me" Cassie said getting angrier every second. Why was Remus mad at her? He was going with someone else. He had a date. So why was he freaking out about her going with James to a Ball.

"Oh, so you would've gone with anybody just because they asked you-"

"That's sort of the point when someone asks you to a Ball, isn't it?"

"I thought you said the guy wasn't James-"

"It is NOT James!" she yelled frustrated back at him. "He only asked me because Lily is going with Amos and-"

"Do you not mind that he's using you as a last resort?"

That stung a little. Remus never talked to Cassie like this. She didn't understand why he was so mad about her going with James to the dance. She knew James was only being nice. He could go with any girl he wanted, but then again, the girl he wanted was already with someone else so they were pretty much in the same place.

"Well, not really. The um- the guy that I wanted to go with is doing with someone else so-" she said sadly.

"And you'd rather go with James?"

"I'd rather go with him than with any jerk your little girlfriend wanted to set me up with-"

"She's not my girlfriend! We're just going to the Ball together-"

"I don't care! I couldn't care less about who goes to the Ball with you-"

"Yeah? Well, I think the same thing!"

"Really? Because you were just making a scene about me going with James a minute ago!"

"Only because you're having a tantrum!"

"A tantrum? Don't you think I'm going with him because I'd prefer to go with a friend and have fun instead of going with someone I just met-"

"We both know that is not true! You're going with James because for once things didn't go your way! You always do this, Cassiopeia! You're acting really immature, you know? Whenever things don't go your way you start acting manipulative and selfish and you don't even care if people's feelings get hurt in the way!"

"Excuse me?" Cassie asked getting madder with every word Remus was saying.

"Ugh, Merlin! You're acting like a- like a-"

"Like a what?" Cassie challenged him to say exactly what she knew he wanted to say.

"Like a _Black!_ " he yelled before he could stop himself.

Cassie felt her blood boiling inside of her body. She could not believe he had the nerve to say that to her. She knew he said it out of spite. She knew he would never compare her to her cousins… or worse, her mother. But regardless of that, he'd said it; which is why she slapped him hard across his face.

"You are an asshole" she muttered furiously before she ran off away from him, leaving an angry, sad and hurt Remus standing alone in the middle of the gardens.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, after Juliette had excused herself and left the two boys to their breakfast going back to her table, three girls took the empty seats next to them.

"Guys, we need to talk" Lily informed the two confused boys.

"Are you breaking up with us, Evans?" Sirius mocked her. "Because I don't know if my fragile heart could take that."

"Shut up! Be serious" Marlene said annoyed.

"I am" he said smirking at her and she rolled her eyes.

"How can we help you ladies?" James asked winking at Lily, who rolled her eyes at him.

"It's about Cassie and Remus" Alice started.

"What about Cassie and Remus?"

"We have to get them together" Lily informed them. The two boys turned to look at each other with raised eyebrows before they turned to look back at the girls.

"What do you know?" they both asked at the same time.

"We know he's in love with her, why? What do _you_ know?" Lily asked.

"We know she's in love with him" James responded.

"See? I told you!" Alice said smirking at her friends. "It was obvious" she told them.

"Wait, how do you know Remus is in love with her?" Sirius asked curiously.

"He told Marlene and they were planning on him asking her to the Ball and we overheard" Lily explained.

"You were spying on us!" Marlene complained.

"We were not!" Alice said. "How do you know Cassie is in love with him?"

"How do you think? I'm her twin! I figured it out" Sirius said with a smirk.

"After I did" James pointed out.

"Shut up!"

"The point is" Lily said getting them back on subject. "What do we do about it?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it at the moment" James said sadly.

"Yeah, he's going with Juliette to the Ball" Sirius pointed out.

"Only because he thinks Cassie wants to go with someone else, but if she tells him he might-"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen" Sirius told them.

"She's sort of not speaking to him" James said.

"What? But they were talking right now" Alice said confused.

"They were arguing right now" Sirius said rolling his eyes. "Ever since him and Juliette announced they were going together to the dance, she's been avoiding Moony" he explained.

"Yeah, she said it only hurt more when she was around him so she's sort of… going through a mourning period" he told them.

"What?" Marlene asked sadly. "B-but we just saw her" she said not knowing how they could've missed their friend being so upset.

"Yeah, she seemed fine" Lily said realizing it too.

"Well, you know how Cassie is" Sirius told them. "She keeps her emotions to herself. But she's been crying a lot lately-"

"Wait, she cried?" Alice said not believing that they were so focused on Remus, they didn't even worried about Cassie. "Like real tears?" she asked sadly and both boys nodded.

"She's really upset" James told them.

"Girls, I know what we have to do" Lily said turning to her two friends.

"You're not going to get my sister drunk again, are you Evans?"

"No, Sirius" Lily said rolling her eyes. "And I didn't get her drunk! We got drunk together!"

"Whatever you say" Sirius said with a small laugh.

"Well, we're going to go deal with Cassie and we can figure this out later" Lily told them. "Meet us in the Common Room tonight? After dinner?"

"It's a date" James said winking at her. Lily rolled her eyes but let out a small smile.

"Let's go girls" she told the other two girls who stood up and followed her.

The three friends quickly made their way to their Common Room, through the portrait and straight to their dorm where they found Cassie sitting on her bed wearing one of Remus' sweaters and reading 'The Beauty and The Beast'. Her face was red and puffy and she had endless chocolate wraps around her.

"Oh, hey girls" she said wiping away the remaining tears and trying her best to smile at them.

"Cassie" Lily said with a sad smile as the three of them made their way to her bed and hugged her.

"Oh, Cassie" Marlene said hugging her even tighter. "We're so sorry we didn't see it-"

"What? No! Girls I'm fine, really" she said not really knowing if she was trying to convince them or herself.

"Cassie, you don't have to lie to us" Alice told her. "Sirius and James told us everything" he told her.

"Ugh, those bastards" she muttered.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Marlene asked her. "Cass, I would've never asked him out if I knew-"

"Don't worry about it Marl" she said with a small smile. "I wasn't even sure back then" she assured her. "Besides, is not like it matters, he doesn't feel the same way about me" she said sadly.

"What? But of course, he does" Lily told her.

"Don't, Lils" she said sadly. "Just… please. Sirius and James have tried to convince me of that but… come on, I mean he's going to the Ball with Juliette-"

"Only because she asked him and he thinks you want to go with someone else" Alice explained.

"What? I don't want to go with anybody else. I was just going to ask him but… well, you know the rest" she told them.

"Cassie, you can't give up on him" Lily told her.

"Girls, I really appreciate what you're trying to do, honestly, but I just got into a massive argument with Remus and I don't think he even wants to talk to me right now" she said remembering their fight. "Besides, I already said I'm going to the Ball with James so-"

"What?"

"When did this happen?"

"You're going with James?" Lily asked not meaning to sound so wounded about it.

"Well, you know, the people we both wanted to go with are… going with someone else… so" Cassie replied sadly and Lily looked away a little guilty.

"But, what about Remus?" Marlene asked.

"He's going with Juliette" Cassie said shrugging her shoulders.

"But maybe if-"

"Guys, I'm sorry but, I don't think there's anything I can do. We are not really speaking at the moment and I am not really in the best mood to talk about it" she told them. "I really appreciate what you're doing and that you care but I just need to clear my mind so, I'm going out for a while" she said grabbing her books and leaving the dorm with the other three worried girls behind.

"She's broken" Alice said sadly.

"We have to do something" Marlene told them.

"Girls, I think I've got a plan" Lily said smirking.

* * *

 **A/N: and done! :D chapter 9! I hope you guys liked it! :) and just because you guys are THE BOMB I'll give you a small preview about next chapter! guess what? that's right! THE BALL! :D remember suggestions & ideas are always welcome so if there's something you'd like to happen at the Ball or even suggesting songs or whatever, do not hesitate on telling me! :D thank you so much for following and favoriting me and I really, really love your reviews so... let me know what you think ;) and thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	10. Kiss Me

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hello everyone I am so SO sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I had one of my friends visiting from out of town so I was really busy but, I made it up by writing a really looong chapter and a few more surprises ;D now, as usual, I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys ROCK! a special thanks to DolphinPhoenix1217 thank you for liking my story so much, Hiimprettyawesomehowboutyou sorry about the frustration haha, rachelle8 thank you so much for your suggestion and well... read to find out if it's here I won't spoil it for you ;),imketys thank you for your suggestion too! I sort of took it but gave it another spin... hope it still works for you though :Dand now, you guys ready? here's chapter 10 enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _Settle down with me  
And I'll be your safety, you'll be my lady  
I was made to keep your body warm  
But I'm cold as the wind blows  
So hold me in your arms  
Oh no, my hear't against your chest  
Your lips pressed to my neck  
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet  
And with this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now  
Kiss me like you wanna be loved  
You wanna be loved, you wanna be loved  
This feels like falling in love  
Falling in love, we're falling in love  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"Are you girls ready?" Marlene asked excitedly.

"Do I _have_ to go?" Cassie complained.

"Yes, let's go!" Lily said happily dragging her by her hand.

It was a Hogsmeade weekend and the girls decided to go and buy whatever they needed for the Ball next week. Three of them were very excited but the fourth one didn't even see the point of going. Cassie was going with James and they were going as friends so there was really no point in getting all dressed up.

"But-"

"Cassie! Come on, it'll be fun. We'll try on dresses and shoes and accessories and then we can have lunch at the Three Broomsticks" Alice told them.

"You know, lunch for real this time" Lily added with a small laugh and making her laugh too.

"Fine, let's go" she said rolling her eyes as they made their way to Hogsmeade.

The village was covered in snow. Cassie loved the snow but she wasn't a huge fan of the cold weather. The only coats she had to wear were probably the best ones in the Wizarding World according to her mother but they were never exactly warm. When the girls reached Hogsmeade they quickly made their way to Gladrags Wizardwear. When they were inside it was filled with girls looking for dresses for the Ball.

"Cassie?" Cassie turned around to see Roxanne Malfoy trying on a dress. She waved for her to walk over so she did.

"Hi Roxanne" she said happily. She liked Roxanne. They were friends when they were kids even if she was a year younger. And unlike the rest of her 'friends' she never stopped talking to her or Sirius. It probably wasn't the same, but still. "Wow, that's a pretty dress" she said admiring the girl's white dress.

"Isn't it? Don't you think Sirius would like it?" she said spinning around.

"Right, you're going with my brother" Cassie said pretending to be happy for her. She knew Roxanne had always had a crush on Sirius and he was probably just going to dump her after the Ball.

"I heard you're going with James Potter" she said happily.

"At least he's a pureblood" Narcissa Black said coming out of one of the fitting rooms wearing a dark purple dress and glaring a little at her cousin. "You know, sharing a house with half-bloods and mud-"

"Finish that sentence Narcissa and your skin will match the color of your dress" Cassie threatened her. Narcissa kept her glare on her but she closed her mouth. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat about you going with my brother and you going with her brother I assume" she said looking back at Narcissa. "But I have to get back to my _friends_ " she said nodding her head to the four girls.

"Right, we'll see you around" Roxanne said trying to break the tension between the cousins. "Good luck with the dresses!"

"Thanks" she said walking over to her roommates who had endless amounts of dresses on their hands.

"There you are!" Marlene said excitedly. "Look! This pile is for you to try on" she said showing her the dresses in her right hand. Cassie grabbed them and laughed a little at her friend.

"Isn't this a bit too much-?"

"We need to see which one is the best!" Marlene argued. "Now, come on, there are more fitting rooms over here" she said pulling her with the rest of them.

Meanwhile four boys were making their way out of Zonko's and into the busy streets of Hogsmeade. They decided to make their way over to Honeydukes and started heading for the candy shop when Remus saw Cassie through the window. She was wearing a black dress and looking at herself in the mirror. She looked beautiful. She turned around and he could tell she was talking to someone asking them if that was the right dress. He saw her smile and saw Lily walking over to her as they both turned to face the mirror again and Lily put Cassie's hair up and explaining something to her. He saw how happy she looked. How beautiful she looked.

"What are you looking at there, mate?" Remus jumped a little surprised when he was snapped out of his thoughts by Sirius' voice. The other Marauder was standing next to him, waiting for an answer. When he didn't get one, he turned to see where Remus had been looking and saw his sister talking to Lily, both of them wearing dresses. "Let me guess" he said mocking his friend. "You weren't exactly admiring Lily's green dress, were you?"

That's when it dawned on him. Sirius knew. Of course, Sirius knew. Cassie was his twin sister for Merlin's sake. So what was he supposed to do? Play dumb? Admit the whole thing? Remus shrugged his shoulders and stared down at the floor.

"Not exactly" he admitted quietly.

"So, what were you staring at?"

"Uh- nothing, just saw the girls and well, wanted do see their dresses-"

"Really? So were you not staring at my sister?"

"W-what?" he said with a nervous smile. "I don't know what you're talking-"

"Do you two honestly think I _don't_ know, Moony?"

"I uh-" Remus stuttered. "Well-"

"She told me what you said to her, mate" Sirius said getting a little upset and making Remus even more nervous.

"Padfoot, I didn't mean it" he said honestly. "I have tried to apologize to her but she's been avoiding me-"

"Well, obviously" Sirius snapped a little and saw a few people turning their head to see them so he lowered his voice. "Listen, the only reason why I haven't hexed your sorry ass is because Cassie asked me not to and Prongs made me promise that I wouldn't do it" he said rolling his eyes. "But if I had any say on it, I would've already hexed you so bad even your grandchildren would feel it for making my sister cry-"

"Wait, what?" he asked feeling his heart breaking a little. "She- she cried? Sirius I swear I never meant to-"

"I don't care if you didn't mean to! You still did! And you and I both know that Cassie never cries" he said glaring at his friend.

"I know! I blew it, Pads! I am so sorry. I know I was an idiot for yelling at her and saying what I did, I just…" he sighted frustrated. He was going to have this conversation with Sirius sooner or later.

"You just, what?"

"I'm in love with her, Sirius" he said looking at his friend and waiting for his fist to connect with his face, but it never came.

"Well, I know _that_ , you idiot!" Sirius said in an obvious tone.

"What? You- you knew?" Remus asked more confused than ever.

"Of course I knew! What I want to know is then why are you taking Juliette to the stupid Ball?"

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"And people think you're the smartest out of the four of us" Sirius said rolling his eyes. "Listen, if Cassie decides to never forgive you, I won't blame her. And if she decides to forgive you, that doesn't mean I have! I'm watching you, Lupin! And I swear, one wrong move, and you're dead" he said in a calmed but threatening tone.

"Fair enough" Remus told him putting his hands up in surrender and they made their way back to the other two Marauders.

After each girl had the perfect dress, according to Marlene, they headed out of the store and heard Cassie's stomach growl. "Uh, sorry, I'm kind of hungry" she said blushing a little.

"Let's go get lunch then" Lily suggested and they made their way to the Three Broomsticks.

The four girls went inside the pub and quickly found an empty table. They ordered their drinks and it wasn't long before three boys made their way over to them and joined them.

"Hey girls" Sirius said sitting next to Cassie and taking her Butterbeer.

"Hey!" she complained hitting him while James sat on the other side of her.

"Look who we ran into at Honeydukes" he said as Frank joined the table and sat next to Alice, kissing her cheek.

"Where's Peter?" Marlene asked confused.

"With that girl he's going to the Ball with" James said. "She's got him wrapped around her finger" he said laughing before he grabbed Cassie's Butterbeer and taking a sip.

"Seriously?" she asked annoyed. "I'm going to the bathroom and when I come back, I expect another _full_ Butterbeer for me, got it?" she said glaring at the two boys.

"Yes ma'am" they both said with a military salute. She rolled her eyes before she left the table.

"Alright, here's what I know" Marlene said turning to everyone else. "Olivia told me that Mary told her that she heard from Lucinda and Emma who were talking to Sarah who is Juliette's roommate that she is only hanging around Remus to make Bertram Aubrey jealous" she informed them.

"What?"

"Are you serious?"

"No, I am" Sirius said but everyone just ignored him.

"That bitch!" to everyone's surprise, it was Lily. She _never_ swore so the Prefect blushed and look down. "Sorry, I just… why would someone do that to Remus? He's the sweetest guy in school" she said.

"Hey!" Sirius, James, _and_ Frank complained.

"I know!" Marlene said. "Anyways, apparently Bertram and Juliette dated but he broke up with her and she heard that he has a crush on Cassie-"

"Ha! There's a bigger chance of me going out with Evans than him getting near my sister" Sirius said earning a glare from Lily.

"The point is" Marlene glared at him too for interrupting her. "Juliette heard him say that he was going to ask Cassie to the Ball and some other guy said that either Sirius would hex any guy that comes near her-"

"See?"

"Or" she continued ignoring Sirius. "Cassie would most likely end up going with someone like Remus. So, since Juliette didn't like Cassie, and she thinks she's the reason Bertram broke up with her, she asked Remus to get him away from Cassie _and_ make Bertram jealous at the same time" she finished.

"That little minx!" Alice said angrily.

"Girls are so complicated" Sirius muttered the other two boys who nodded.

"So, what do we do? We can't let her do this to Remus" Alice said.

"Well, we have to figure out a way to tell him and hopefully he'll dump her" Frank suggested.

"What if we tell Cassie?" Sirius said all of the sudden and everyone turned to look at him. "Hear me out, I know she's mad at him _but_ Cassie would do anything for Remus and if she finds out what Juliette is doing, she might even hex her-"

"We don't want to hex the girl" Lily pointed out.

"Some of us do" James muttered.

"Well then, what do you suggest we do, Evans?"

"We could lock them up in a room and make them talk to each other" James suggested. "They won't talk to the other unless they're alone" he pointed out.

"That's not a terrible idea" Alice said.

"Is Remus coming later?" Marlene asked.

"Yeah, he said he was going to buy a book and then meet us here" Sirius said.

"So, maybe after lunch, we can leave them alone?" Marlene said smiling.

"That could work" Frank stated.

"I don't know, I'll think of something! Now shut up, your sister is coming" she said smiling at Cassie who was approaching the table. "Hey Cassie" she greeted the black-haired witch as she sat next to her.

"Why is everyone looking at me weird?"

"We're not" the six teenagers answered at the same time which made Cassie lift her eyebrow in confusion.

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late I just really wanted this-" Remus stopped when he spotted Cassie "…book" he finished awkwardly.

"Don't worry, Remus" Marlene said breaking the tension. "We haven't even ordered yet" she said as he sat down next to her.

The lunch went by rather smoothly but Cassie tried her best to avoid Remus' look which wasn't easy seeing as he decided to pretty much stare at her the entire time. She really wanted to leave but it was too cold outside and she was really hungry so she decided to suck it up. She quickly managed to get into a conversation with James and Frank about Quidditch and saw Remus and Lily going by some things about Prefects. When they were done, the eight teenagers went out of the pub and stood in the middle of the street.

"So… we're heading over to Madame Puddifoot's" Frank said holding Alice's hand.

"See you guys later!"

"Lily, did we get a necklace for your dress?" Marlene asked.

"No, we should go look for one" Lily said before they left too.

"Hey Pads, look who's over there" James said smirking.

"Snivelly" Sirius said mimicking James' smirk. "I believe is time to test out what we bought in Zonko's, wouldn't you say Prongs?" he said before the two of them disappeared too, leaving Cassie and Remus standing alone outside in the middle of the street.

"I think they did this on purpose" Remus said awkwardly.

"What was your first clue?" Cassie asked sounding a little angrier than she meant.

Remus felt his heart clench. He noted Cassie's face was red and puffy and he couldn't help but feel worse than he already did, remembering what Sirius had told him. He had tried to coincide with her every other single day and apologize, but it was more than obvious that the girl was avoiding him and she was really good at it. Cassie felt her heart pounding hard. She hadn't been alone with Remus ever since their argument. She hadn't even looked at him during the entire week. And now, here she was, left by her so called friends, alone with him. The two teenagers stood in awkward silence. Cassie didn't dare to look up from the floor; she just hugged herself in order to keep warm. Remus noticed she was shivering despite her coat so he took off his jacket.

"Here" he said giving it to her.

"Oh, n-no that's alright-t thanks" she said with a small smile escaping her lips. Probably her first smile in a week.

"Cassie, you're shaking" Remus argued with her as he put it around her shoulders despite her protests.

"But then y-you'll be cold" she told him.

"I'm alright" he assured her taking off his scarf and putting it around her neck.

"Stop it!" she said a little upset.

"Stop what?" he asked genuinely confused.

"Stop b-being so nice to me" she said sadly. "I'm trying to be mad at you" she said looking down knowing she was never able to stay mad at him for too long.

Remus felt his heart tighten a little and sighted sadly. He missed his friend. He didn't know how things got the way they were. He'd never intended to yell at Cassie, but the news of her going to the Ball with James just made him sick to his stomach. He thought he was missing his chance by letting Cassie go with the boy she wanted to go not by going with James. He blew it. He placed his finger under her chin and lifted her head up gently.

"Cassie" he whispered softly. "I am so sorry for what I said to you" he said trying to make her look at him but she was avoiding his eyes as much as she could. "I was an idiot and I deserved you slapping me, hell, I deserved you hexing me, I honestly don't know why you didn't do it" he said with a small chuckle trying to make her laugh. "Please, forgive me" he begged her. "I miss you" he whispered getting her to look at him straight in the eyes. He saw her eyes were filled with tears threatening to fall at any time. "Please don't cry" he said wiping the first tear that fell with his thumb. "Not because of me. I've never wanted to make you cry" he said getting frustrated.

"I miss you too" she whispered looking down again but he barely heard her.

"What?"

"I miss you too, you idiot!" she snapped at him and he let out a small laugh. "Don't laugh! I'm supposed to be mad at you! You were a real jerk-"

"I know, I know. And I really am sorry. I never meant to say that. If I could take it back, you know I would-"

"Is not just about that" she pointed out. "Why were you so mad about me going with James to the Ball?"

Remus felt his heart stopping for a little. He couldn't tell her exactly why he didn't like the idea of her going with James but there was no other reasonable explanation as to why he would be so upset about it.

"I uh-" he said nervously placing his hand behind his neck. "I d-don't know" he said looking down.

"You don't know?" she asked confused.

"I um… I can't tell you" he said quietly.

"Why not?"

"I don't want you to hate me" he admitted looking down.

"What? Why would I hate you?"

"Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you for that. You have every right to go with whoever you want and it was wrong for me to yell at you because of that and… say all those things I said. I understand if you don't forgive me I just… wanted you to know… well, that. That I'm sorry and that I miss you" he said sadly. "I'll uh- leave you alone now" he said before he turned around and was about to walk away from Cassie but he felt a hand grabbing his.

He spun to face her again and saw her smiling up at him. Before he could ask her anything she threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Remus smiled relieved wrapping his arms around her and placing his head on top of hers.

"You're an idiot" she muffled against his chest and he let out a small chuckle.

"I know" he said kissing her forehead. "Come on, let's go get some hot chocolate before you freeze to death" he said leading her back to the castle. Cassie simply smiled and let him lead her away.

"See? It worked!" Lily said excited behind a bush watching the two friends hugging.

"I hate to break it to you, but that's pretty much how they behaved before their fight" James informed her.

"The first part was to get them to talk again" Lily said rolling her eyes and turning to look at him and realizing just how close they were. James smirked a little when he saw her cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"So, what happens now?" Sirius asked snapping them out of their gaze on each other.

"Now, we get them together" Marlene said smiling.

* * *

"CASSIE!"

The girls were getting ready for the Ball. Lily was working on everyone's hair and Marlene was working on their makeup. Cassie walked out of her dorm wearing shorts and a t-shirt with hair curlers in her head and makeup on only half of her face. She walked down to the Common Room where she found both of her brothers standing at the end of the stairs.

"What?" she asked annoyed.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Sirius asked trying not to laugh and pointing at her head.

"And what happened to your face?" Regulus asked not even trying to stop laughing.

"Shut up! They're Lily's" she explained. "They're supposed to make my hair curly and Marlene was just in the middle of my makeup, now what do you want? And what are _you_ doing here?" she asked confused looking at Regulus. Both Black brothers grabbed their bow-ties in their hands and showed them to her. Cassie rolled her eyes. "Really?"

"Please" they both pouted at the same time and she laughed a little.

"Give me that" she said grabbing Regulus' tie and started fixing it.

"So, how do these work?" Regulus asked touching one of the hair curlers with his fingers.

"Bugger off" Cassie said snapping his hand out of the way. "Lily said I wasn't supposed to touch them" she explained.

"I think they look very pretty on you" he mocked her.

"Yeah, mother would love to see you like this" Sirius said as they both laughed.

"Do you two want to go ask someone else to fix your tie for you?"

"Sorry" they both said at the same time. She quickly finished with Regulus' tie and moved on to Sirius'.

"Hey, Pads- oh hey Cassie" James said coming down from his dorm with Remus behind him. "What are those?" he asked laughing at her.

"They make her hair curly" Regulus explained.

"Ah" James said. "Are you wearing them all night? Because I might not be able to take you seriously like that-"

"Do you want to find yourself another date, Potter?" Cassie glared at him once she was done with Sirius' tie.

"No ma'am" James said trying to not laugh anymore.

"I'll take them off in a while, don't' worry" she told him. "Well, if you boys excuse me, I have to go get ready-"

"Wait" James stopped her and she turned around to face him.

"Seriously?" she asked when she saw him and Remus with their ties undone around their necks as well. "Didn't anybody teach you to tie a tie?" she asked grabbing James tie and fixing it for him.

"Of course, we'd just rather have a pretty girl do it for us" James said winking at her.

"Watch it, Potter" both Sirius and Regulus complained at the same time and Cassie rolled her eyes as she finished working on James' tie.

"Thanks, Cass" he said kissing her head. "See you in a while" he said before walking back to his dorm along with Sirius and Regulus walked out the portrait.

"Do you need any help?" she asked Remus.

"Uh, if you don't mind" he said shyly. Cassie smiled up at him and grabbed the tie from his hand.

Cassie could feel him stare at her while she was tying his tie. Ever since they talked in Hogsmeade things were slowly getting back to normal but Cassie still felt her heart ache whenever Juliette would decide to add herself to the group and attach herself to Remus, which was, practically, all the time. She was trying really hard to not focus on Remus for the night and just enjoy the Ball with James but it was really hard when here he was asking for her help looking more handsome than ever. It just reminded her how in love she was with him and there was no way he would love her back. Once she was done she looked up at him, leaving him to tighten his tie. "Done" she said with a small smile.

"Thanks" he said smiling back at her. And that's how she always forgot it. That's how she couldn't remember why she was even mad at him in the first place. When he smiled at her it made everything better. But just for a little while and then she remembers that he's going to the Ball with someone else. That another girl is in his mind and not her.

"N-no problem" she replied with a sad smile.

"Cassie!" she heard Marlene's voice from her dorm.

"I uh, better get back and finish getting ready" she said turning around and climbing up the stairs. She really couldn't look at him anymore. He looked too good.

"Cassie" Remus said confused tried to get her back.

"You look very handsome" she muttered sadly. "Juliette is a very lucky girl" she sadi before she disappeared into her dorm. Remus let out a frustrated sigh. The Ball hadn't even started and he was already having a bad time.

An hour later, James stood in the middle of the Common Room along with Frank waiting for their dates. Sirius had left to meet Roxanne and Peter had left to look for his date. Remus was walking out of his dorm and almost out of the portrait when James stopped him.

"Hey Moony" James said making him turn around. "Aren't you going to stay and see the girls?"

"I uh, have to go meet Juliette" he said not really convinced. He really wanted to see Cassie but he had to go.

"Come on, mate, they're almost done" Frank tried to convince him.

"Hi guys" Marlene said walking out of her dorm with Lily. Marlene was wearing a beautiful navy blue dress while Lily was wearing an emerald green dress. James' draw was almost on the floor when he spotted the red-haired witch. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and she looked simply stunning.

"You girls look very nice" Frank complimented them while Remus smiled.

"Yeah, you look very pretty" he said. "James?"

James' mouth was still open and his eyes were still glued to Lily. "Uh – ah I uh- um-"

"Wow" Lily said. "I had never seen James Potter speechless" she said with a raised eyebrow. "You guys clean up well yourselves" she told them.

"We have to go, Amos and Davey are waiting for us outside" Marlene told them. "Cassie and Alice are almost done" she announced before both girls were out of the portrait.

"Are you alright, mate?" Remus asked James who was looking in the direction the girls left.

"She looked gorgeous" James said spaced out. The other two boys tried not to laugh when they heard someone clearing their throat.

They turned around to see Alice making her way towards Frank, wearing a beautiful red dress. "Hi" she said smiling up at him. Remus and James smirked when they saw Frank blush the same shade of red as her dress.

"You look stunning" Frank managed to get out.

"Thank you" Alice said shyly. "You look very handsome" she told him.

"Ehem!"

"You too, James" she said rolling her eyes at him. "And you, Remus" she said.

"Where's Cassie?" James asked confused.

"She's coming" Alice said turning to look at the door of her dorm. "Cassie!"

"I can't walk in this!" they all heard the girl complain from upstairs.

"Cassiopeia Black, if you don't get down, I will get up there and pull you down myself!" Alice threatened.

"Alright, alright" Cassie said walking out of the dorm. "Just, hold on" she said pointing her wand at the bottom of her dress and making it shorter until it reached just above her knee. "Better" she said smiling to herself while Alice rolled her eyes.

She walked down the stairs wearing a simple but beautiful black dress and black shoes. Her hair was up in a low side bun with a red flower and her makeup was perfectly done, making her dark grey eyes sparkle more than they usually did and she had red lipstick that matched the flower in her hair. When she made her way downstairs she notice they were all looking at her.

"What?" she asked nervously.

"Wow, Cass" James said smirking at her. "You look… wow!"

"Shut up, Potter" she said smiling not being able to hide her blush. It was a little weird that her best friends were looking at her the way they were. They were probably the only boys in school that had never looked at her like that.

"I'm serious" James told her. "You look-"

"Beautiful" Remus said suddenly from where he stood looking dreamily at her. Cassie couldn't help but blush deeper and she played with the hem of her dress nervously.

"Thanks, guys" she said smiling at them.

"Honestly, I believe I've got the hottest date" James said walking over to her and offering her his elbow. "Shall we?"

Cassie laughed at her friend but grabbed his arm anyways. Remus felt his stomach flipping. That could've been him. That _should've_ been him.

"I uh- I'll see you guys at the Great Hall, I have to go meet Juliette" he said awkwardly before he ran out of the portrait.

"Are you alright?" James asked Cassie who snapped out of her trance.

"What? Yeah" she said with a small smile. "Come on, let's go have fun" she said pulling him with Frank and Alice walking with them.

"Yeah, let's go" Frank said smiling.

* * *

The four teenagers entered the Great Hall and Cassie couldn't help but smile when she saw the scene in front of her. The Great Hall was decorated perfectly for Christmas. Everything was white and the enchanted ceiling was snowing. She loved it. She loved Christmas and snow and the Christmas lights, everything just looked… perfect.

"Jamie" Cassie said all of the sudden.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for taking me to the Ball" she said looking at him. "I really would've hated missing this" she admitted.

"What are best friends for, Cass?" he said smiling at her before he kissed the side of her head.

"What in the name of Merlin is this?" Professor McGonagall said walking over to the couple.

"Good evening, Professor" Cassie said smiling politely.

"You're looking lovely tonight, if I may say so" James said smirking.

"Knock it off, Mr. Potter, and answer my question" she said.

"Question?" James asked confused.

"Are you and Miss Black in some kind of relationship?"

The two friends turned to look at each other and then back at her. "What? N-no, of course not-"

"Good" she said with a serious tone.

"G-good? Why is that good?" Cassie asked curiously.

"I forbid this to happen" she told them.

"You forbid it?" James asked equally confused.

"Yes, I forbid it. Because I do not want to think about the day when the Potter and Black DNA converge; if it were ever to come, the day that little boy or that little girl turns eleven, _that_ is the day I will retire" she said looking at them straight in the eyes. "Now, you two have fun" she said smiling before she walked away from them.

"Huh, I don't know if I should take that as an insult or a compliment" Cassie told James.

"I'm used to taking it as a compliment by now" James said shrugging her shoulders.

"Cassie! James!" Cassie turned around to see Roxanne Malfoy making her way towards them. "Hi guys" she said dragging Sirius with her.

"Hi, Roxanne" she said hugging her friend. "You look beautiful!" she said admiring her friend in a silver dress.

"Thank you, you too" she told her.

"Yeah, you look better without that stuff on your hair" Sirius said about to mess her hair but she hit his hand.

"Don't you dare" she said glaring at him.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Roxanne said looking up at the ceiling.

"Not as beautiful as you" Sirius said hugging Roxanne while James and Cassie rolled their eyes. "Come on, let's go dance" he said dragging her away.

"Should we join them?" Cassie turned around to ask James but saw him concentrated in a specific spot. She looked at where he was staring and watched Lily dancing with Amos.

"She looks very pretty tonight" Cassie commented making James snap out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah" he said sadly. "She does" he smiled.

"Hey, how about this" Cassie suggested. "I don't think about Remus throughout the night and you don't think about Lily" she said.

"I think you've got yourself a deal, Miss Black" he said smiling back at her and kissing her head. "Let's go!"

James dragged her to the dance floor near to where Sirius was dancing with Roxanne, Peter was dancing with his date and Alice was dancing with Frank. She even spotted Regulus and his date not too far from them. Cassie quickly forgot about Remus and it looked like James had forgotten about Lily since they were both having a really good time. They were until Cassie spotted Juliette and Remus.

"You alright?" James asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she said trying to smile.

"Cassie-"

"Hey, we said we weren't going to think about them, remember?"

"Yes, but I just don't like seeing you like this" James admitted. "I knew we should've followed my plan" he blurted out before he widened his eyes realizing what he just said.

"What?" Cassie asked confused.

"Nothing" James quickly said.

"Plan?"

"What? What plan?"

"You said something about a plan!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Plan? There's no plan-"

"You know it really astounds me how you and Sirius are so good at lying to professors but have always failed to lie to me" Cassie said with a warning tone. "Now tell me… what plan are you talking about?"

James sighed in defeat. "We were going to lock you both in a storeroom until you admitted your feelings for each other" James admitted.

"What? That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Hey! It was _my_ idea" James complained. "And it was brilliant! Look, we already have the whole Juliette thing working on our favor-"

"Wait, what Juliette thing?"

"Uh" James stopped nervously. "Well, Marlene heard from… I don't know a bunch of girls" he said not even trying to remember the trail. "That Juliette only asked Remus to the dance because first, she doesn't like you and wanted to tear Remus away from you-"

"WHAT? That bitch!"

"I know! And she also heard that she was only hanging out with Remus because she's failing Herbology and well he's sort of tutoring her or whatever but she's like in love with Bertram or something" James finished.

"Aubrey?" Cassie asked and James nodded.

"Apparently they dated but he broke up with her because she's crazy or something and she wants him back-"

"So she's using Remus?" Cassie asked getting angrier with every word.

"Yes! But don't you see? That's where you get it! We just need to get Remus to admit his feelings for you-"

"And locking us up in a storeroom was going to do that?"

"Well, we weren't going to let you out until he did!"

"And that's why it's a stupid idea!"

"Well, what do you suggest we do?"

"For starters, you were missing one person to include in your whole stupid plan" Cassie told him.

"Who?"

"Me!" she snapped a little. "I'm the one who wants to get Remus! Don't you think I deserve a word in it as to how I get him?"

"B-but you said you didn't want to do anything" James said confused. "I thought you were going to let him be happy with Juliette-"

"Yeah, well, that was before you told me about Juliette! Now that I know that she is no good for him, I don't care! She doesn't deserve him!"

"That's my Cassie" he said with a smirk. "So, what's the plan?"

"I don't know, I thought you were the one with the plans" she said.

"I thought you said all my plans were stupid" James said offended.

"They _are_ " she pointed out. "I never said they didn't work" she said making James' smirk grow wider.

"Well then, I believe we have to make a certain werewolf jealous" James whispered to her.

"Do you really think that would work?"

"Have you really never noticed when he gets jealous just because someone else is talking to you?" he said. "Trust me, I can make Remus crack just by dancing with you" he told her. "It'll work."

"Really?"

"I will kiss you if I have to" James said in a serious tone.

"Um, no offence, but could we maybe not take it that far?" she asked with a disgusted face. "It'd be like kissing Sirius" she said.

"Right back at you" James informed her.

"Hey!" she said offended.

"What? You said it!"

"Yes, but you just said that kissing me would be like kissing a boy!"

"You just said that kissing _me_ would be like kissing your brother!"

"Alright, fair enough" she gave up.

"So, are you in?" he asked smirking. Cassie turned to see over where Remus was apparently arguing about something with Juliette and then she smirked back at him.

"Let's do this, Potter!"

James turned around and walked over to the band and Cassie saw him say something to the lead singer as he pointed at her. The man nodded at James and smiled at Cassie so she waved back awkwardly. She then saw the lead singer telling the other musicians what James had told him. When the music started, James danced his way back over to Cassie, who was biting her lip so she wouldn't laugh.

 _Well, I remember every little thing  
As if it happened only yesterday  
Parking by the lake  
And there was not another car in sight_

James took Cassie's hand in his and spun her around a few times while mouthing the words of the song.

 _And I never had a girl  
Looking any better than you did  
And all the kids at school  
They were wishing they were me that night_

Cassie decided to join James singing along with him as he kept on leading her. he was pressing his body against her, smirking at how Remus wanted to kill him with his own eyes.

 _And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight  
It never felt so good, it never felt so right  
And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife  
Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife  
C'mon, hold on tight  
C'mon, hold on tight  
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night  
I can see paradise by the dashboard light_

Cassie and James were dancing so exuberantly that people around them were backing away in fear of injury.

 _Ain't no doubt about it we were doubly blessed  
'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed  
Ain't no doubt about it  
Baby, got to go out and shout it  
Ain't no doubt about itWe were doubly blessed  
'Cause we were barely seventeen  
And we were barely dressed_

Cassie smiled flirtily at James as she undid his bow-tie and threw it out before she messed his hair and he sang back to her.

 _Baby, don't you hear my heart  
You got it drowning out the radio  
I've been waiting so long  
For you to come along and have some fun  
And I gotta let you know  
No, you're never gonna regret it  
So open up your eyes,  
I got a big surprise  
It'll feel all right  
Well, I wanna make your motor run_

James spun Cassie towards him once more and managed to grab the pin that was holding her hair up, letting her long, messy waves roam freely to her waist.

 _And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight  
It never felt so good, it never felt so right  
And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife  
Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife  
C'mon, hold on tight  
C'mon, hold on tight  
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night  
I can see paradise by the dashboard light  
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night  
Paradise by the dashboard light_

Cassie quickly forgot about feeling upset because of Remus. She was really having fun dancing with James. So much fun, she didn't even notice Remus' face as they danced. Or the rest of her friends smirking at the whole thing for that matter.

 _You got to do what you can  
And let Mother Nature do the rest  
Ain't no doubt about it  
We were doubly blessed  
'Cause we were barely seventeen  
And we were barely_

James quickly picked Cassie up and started spinning around with her in his arms a couple of times before he placed her back and kept on spinning her.

 _We're gonna go all the way tonight  
We're gonna go all the way  
And tonight's the night  
_ _We're gonna go all the way tonight  
We're gonna go all the way  
And tonight's the night  
_ _We're gonna go all the way tonight  
We're gonna go all the way  
And tonight's the night  
We're gonna go all the way tonight  
We're gonna go all the way  
And tonight's the night_

That did it for Remus. He abruptly stopped dancing with Juliette despite her protests. He felt his hand clenching into a fist as he saw his two friends dancing. James was dancing too close to Cassie for his liking. He even turned to see if Regulus or Sirius were thinking of stopping this madness but he couldn't find Sirius and Regulus seemed to be happy dancing with his date. He saw James spinning Cassie around the dance floor and holding her close to him. The worst part was that Cassie was enjoying the whole thing. He always knew they were both good dancers but he never knew they could dance like this. James seeing Remus shake in anger decided to take it a little further leaning down and quickly pressed his lips against Cassie's shoulder. Cassie was a little frozen at first but saw someone else being jealous about the performance and thought maybe James' plan wasn't completely stupid after all. Remus was about to walk over there and punch James when he saw his hand traveling up Cassie's legs all the way to her butt but stopped when Cassie pushed him off her smirking and continued singing.

 _Stop right there  
I gotta know right now  
Before we go any further  
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?  
Do you need me? Will you never leave me?  
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?  
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?  
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?  
Do you need me? Will you never leave me?  
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?  
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?  
I gotta know right now  
Before we go any further  
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?_

James smirked and winked at Remus before he turned back to Cassie and sang to her. Remus saw him make his way to Cassie and throw his arms around her. It took all up in him to not just walk over there and separate the two of them, grab Cassie and take her out of there.

 _Let me sleep on it  
Baby, baby, let me sleep on it  
Let me sleep on it  
And I'll give you an answer in the morning  
Let me sleep on it  
Baby, baby, let me sleep on it  
Let me sleep on it  
And I'll give you an answer in the morning  
Let me sleep on it  
Baby, baby, let me sleep on it  
Let me sleep on it  
And I'll give you an answer in the morning_

James surrounded Cassie and hugged her from behind singing to her in her ear. Cassie bit her bottom lip trying her best not to burst out laughing. She smirked before she pushed James off her again and sang to him while he chased her.

 _I gotta know right now  
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?  
Do you need me? Will you never leave me?  
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?  
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?  
I gotta know right now  
Before we go any further  
Do you love me? And will you love me forever?_

She looked up at James and smiled at him. James smirked back at his friend not only because she was talking to him but because it seemed like Remus was having that exact same doubts.

 _What's it gonna be, boy?  
Come on, I can wait all night  
_ _What's it gonna be, boy? Yes or no?  
What's it gonna be, boy?Yes or no?  
Let me sleep on it  
Baby, baby, let me sleep on it  
Let me sleep on it  
I'll give you an answer in the morning_

James was kneeling down with Cassie on her lap. Cassie got up and pushed him back down but he followed her on his knees begging her but Cassie kept on teasing him. Remus was really only trying his best to keep calm at the fact that one of his best friends was basically asking the girl he was in love with to have sex with him and then he would decide if he loves her.

 _I gotta know right now! Let me sleep on it  
Do you love me? Baby, baby, let me sleep on it  
Will you love me forever? Let me sleep on it  
Do you need me? Let me sleep on it  
Will you never leave me? And I'll give you an answer in the morning  
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?  
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?  
I gotta know right now  
Before we go any further  
Do you love me? Will you love me forever?_

James, smirking followed Cassie who had her back on him and easily picked her up in his arms. Cassie let out a loud laugh before she wrapped her arms around James' neck so she wouldn't fall.

 _Let me sleep on it  
Will you love me forever?  
Let me sleep on it  
Will you love me forever?  
I couldn't take it any longer, lord I was crazed  
And when the feeling came upon me like a tidal wave  
I started swearing to my god and on my mother's grave  
That I would love you to the end of time  
I swore! I would love you to the end of time_

James placed Cassie back down and spun her around. They both turned back to look at each other not being able to contain their laughter anymore and just kept on singing and dancing around while everyone was still looking at them.

 _So now I'm praying for the end of time to hurry up and arrive  
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you, I don't think that I can really survive  
I'll never break my promise or forget my vow  
But God only knows what I can do right now  
I'm praying for the end of time  
It's all I can do (ooh, ooh)  
I'm praying for the end of time so I can end my time with you  
It was long ago and it was far away, and it was so much better than it is today  
It never felt so good, it never felt so rightAnd we were glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife_

James and Cassie finished standing in the middle of the dance floor trying to catch their breaths, Cassie back in James' arms.

"That was wicked" they said at the same time with equal smirks before James placed Cassie back down on the floor and they bowed to their audience. Even some professors were impressed with the couple, including Professor McGonagall.

"I think we managed to make someone pretty jealous" James whispered in her ear. Cassie turned to see where Remus was glaring at the pair.

"I don't think he's the _only one_ we made jealous" she winked at James. He turned around confused at her and she nodded her head where a certain red head wasn't particularly enjoying the attention the two were getting.

"You think-?"

"I know" Cassie said smirking. "Let's go get something to drink" she said pulling him towards the drinks.

"You guys! That as brilliant" Alice said smiling along with Frank.

"Thanks-"

"What was that?" Lily said coming over to them a little more jealous than she intended to sound.

"Is called dancing" James said high-fiving Cassie.

"That wasn't part of the pla…an" she stopped realizing she let it slip in front of Cassie.

"Oh, the plan? The plan you guys came up with to get Remus and me together? That plan?" Cassie asked her. "I know all about the plan."

"James!" Lily said hitting him in the arm.

"I'm sorry! It slipped out! Plus, she's not upset about it" he pointed out.

"You're not?" Alice asked a little excited.

"Well, I wasn't thrilled but James also told me about Juliette so, we came up with a new plan" she explained.

"That dance?" Frank asked and Cassie smiled. "Wicked" he said high-fiving James.

"I know!" James said proudly.

"I don't think is going to work" Lily said not entirely happy with the performance.

"Really? Then why is Remus coming over here looking like he's about to murder James?" Alice said.

"What?" James paled a little. He would never admit it, but he knew that deep down either Remus or Sirius could really kick his ass.

"Could I talk to you for a moment?" he said looking at both James and Cassie.

"Uh, me? Or-"

"Prongs" he said fuming.

"Um-"

"Yeah, let's go dance" Frank said grabbing Alice's hand and dragging her to the dance floor.

"Cassie, come with me to the bathroom?" Lily said dragging her out before she could say anything.

"What are you doing? I think he's going to kill James" Cassie said worried looking back at her two friends.

"Please, Remus is not going to do anything and we both know it" Lily told her. "Besides, there are Professors over there" she pointed out.

"I guess you're right" Cassie said as they made their way to the bathroom.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Remus asked furious glaring at James once the girls were out of sight.

"I was dancing with Cassie-"

"You were _groping_ Cassie" Remus said ready to burst into flames.

"So what if I was?" James said before he made his way to the drinks and get himself some punch. "Cassie was enjoying it" he said smirking and drinking his punch.

"What the bloody hell is going on with you? Why are you acting as if you want to be with Cassie? What about Lily?" he asked, trying to make this more about James and Lily than him and Cassie. James noticed a few professors looking their way so he grabbed Remus' arm and dragged him outside to the hall.

"Lily is here with Diggory" James reminded him once they were outside. "She has made it perfectly clear that she wants nothing to do with me. That's why I came here with Cassie, remember?"

"Stay _away_ from her" he threatened.

"What? I am not going to stay away from her! She's my date; she's my friend and, who knows? Maybe after tonight, more than that-" Before James could continue, Remus' fist had connected with his jaw. "Ow! What the fuck, Moony?" he said holding his jaw with his hand.

"I am _not_ going to let you do to Cassie what you do to every other single girl you date!" he said fuming.

James knew he was pushing Remus over the edge, but he also knew that's what he needed to do so he would finally admit his feelings to Cassie.

"First of all, I am not doing to Cassie whatever you think I do to every other single girl" he pointed out. "Second, I haven't hurt her as much as _you_ have" he said noticing Remus' fist clench again and his friend throwing daggers at him. "And third…" he said before he punched Remus back.

"Shit!" Remus said holding his jaw with his hand.

"You didn't think I was just going to let you get away with that, did you?" James asked him. "Now, if you excuse me I am going to get back to my date-"

When James turned around Remus threw himself at him tackling him to the ground before he punched him again. "Stay the bloody hell away from her!" he snapped at him.

"Are you going to make me, Moony?" James asked smirking. Remus felt his blood boiling and was about to punch James once more.

"Hey!" Both friends turned to look up to find Cassie storming her way over to them with Lily next to her. "What the bloody hell is going on here? Remus! Get off James!" she said fuming. "Now!" she yelled when neither of them moved. Remus unwillingly let James go and James fixed his shirt but they both remained silent.

"James! What happened to your face?" Lily asked worriedly when she saw a bruise forming already on his left cheek.

"This? Oh, is nothing, love" he said brushing it off. "You should see the other guy" he said before he pointed at Remus who was still looking away and shaking in anger.

"Remus!" Cassie said glaring at the other boy who just looked at her and back at the wall.

"Um, come on, James, we should get some ice for you" Lily said grabbing him and leading him back to the Great Hall leaving the other two alone.

"Would you like to tell me what that was about?" Cassie asked him.

"Nothing" he muttered.

"So you just punched James for nothing?" Cassie said upset. "Remus, why are you lying to me?"

"I didn't like the way he was dancing with you, alright?"

"Remus! We were just dancing!" Cassie said frustrated.

"He was _touching_ you!" he complained. "And he kissed you!"

"He didn't technically kiss me-"

"Yes, he did!" Remus said furiously.

"So what if he did?" Cassie said without really thinking. Wrong move.

"What if he did?" Remus repeated irritated. "So you're fine with it? Don't you mind it? What, are you like in love with James now?"

"What? That's ridiculous! I am not in love with James!"

"Did you want him to kiss you? Is that why you came with him to the Ball?"

"Remus, you're just saying stupid things now-"

"You know how he is with girls! And you know he's in love with Lily! Why would you put yourself through that? Just so you can date the mighty James Potter? I thought you were smarter than that Cassiopeia-"

"Oh, so now I'm stupid?"

"No! That's not what I said!" Remus said scratching his head frustrated. "This is all so messed up!"

"Remus, are you listening to yourself? You're not making any sense-"

"Why did you have to come with James, Cassie?"

"What? I thought we were over this! I told you! Lily came with Amos and you- uh um" she stopped before she could blurt out something she didn't want to. "Y-you have no right to be mad at me for that! You're here with Juliette! Why does it make you so mad that James is my date?" Cassie yelled frustrated.

"Because!"

"Because, what? Just because?"

"Because he shouldn't be your date! _I_ should be your date!" he yelled before he realized what he had just told her.

Cassie's breath was caught in her throat. She was frozen looking at Remus. He wanted her. He wanted to be with her. He liked her back. He _loved_ her back.

"Y-you… um you…" Cassie stuttered trying to find the words. "You wanted to b-be my date?"

Remus sighted defeated. There was no way out of this. He placed his hand on the back of his head awkwardly and avoided looking at Cassie. "I uh- I did" he admitted looking down. Cassie gently lifted his head with her hand.

"T-then, why didn't you ask m-me?" she asked sadly. Remus was a little taken aback with that question. What was that supposed to mean? That she would've said yes?

"Remus?" they both turned around to see Juliette coming out of the Great Hall. "Uh, you said you were getting us drinks… about half an hour ago" she pointed out.

"Oh, I uh-" Remus stuttered awkwardly looking between her and Cassie. "Could you uh, give us a minute?"

"No, that's alright" Cassie said feeling her heart drop to her stomach. Yes, Juliette was an evil bitch but she still couldn't do this to Remus. "You should go back to your date" she said smiling sadly up at him and walking away from them.

"Cassie" Remus called after her but she was already inside.

* * *

Cassie made her way over to where James was still putting ice on his jaw. "Where's Lily?" she asked. James nodded his head angrily and Cassie turned around to see she was arguing with Amos somewhere in the corner while he glared at James.

"Where's Moony?" he asked. Cassie only needed to look down to the ground for James to understand what had happened. "So much for not thinking about them, huh?"

"Yeah" she said sadly grabbing the ice from his hand and she placed it on his jaw. "Sorry about this" she said.

"Oh, don't worry" James said smirking. "I made Moony hit me" he told her.

"You're an idiot" Cassie said rolling her eyes.

"Hey, my plan _was_ working until-"

"Hey guys" Sirius walked over to them with Roxanne behind him.

"Where have you-? You know what, I don't think I want to know, I'd like to conserve the small piece of sanity I probably have left" Cassie said when she noticed Sirius' shirt was undone and Roxanne's hair was messier than it was at the beginning of the Ball.

"Whatever" Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "Did you hear Moony fighting with Juliette?"

"What?" both of them looked at him confused.

"They were just yelling at each other outside in the hallway" Roxanne informed them. Cassie was about to walk out back to the hallway when she heard someone yell.

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you go on and fuck Potter then" Amos yelled at Lily who seemed like she was about to cry.

Cassie saw James clenching his fists and he quickly made his way over to where Amos and Lily were with Sirius behind him. Roxanne and Cassie decided to follow them.

"Is there a problem here?" James asked glaring at Amos.

"None of your business, Potter" Amos glared at him.

"Oh, sorry I thought it was at the mention of my name" James snapped back at him. "And I don't like the way you're talking to my friend" he pointed out.

Cassie noticed Lily's shocked look when James had called her friend and she also noticed the small smile that had started forming on her face.

"Why don't you run along and annoy your pathetic date instead?"

"Hey! That's my sister!" Sirius said glaring at Amos too.

"Whatever" Amos said grabbing Lily's wrist a bit forcefully and he was about to pull her away from them. "If you excuse us-"

"Let go of me" Lily argued trying to free her hand. "I am not going anywhere with you!"

"Are you seriously going to leave me for him? Me?" Amos asked offended. "Do you realize how many girls wanted to be in your place tonight?"

"Let go of her, Diggory" James threatened with clenched teeth.

"And what are you going to do about it, Potter?" Amos said with an arrogant smirk on his face and letting go of Lily's hand. James clenched his fist back and he was about to punch him.

"No" Lily said stopping James. "I should do it" she said glaring at Amos. "And I _would_ do it, but I'm a lady" she said before she turned around and was about to leave but…

"Well, luckily for you, my mother always says I'm not a lady" Cassie said smirking before she punched Amos on the face.

"Fuck! My face!" Amos said holding his nose, which was starting to bleed before he ran out of the Great Hall.

"Ouch!" Cassie said shaking her hand.

"Cassie!" Lily complained.

"That's the second time I punch a guy for you, you know?" she pointed out.

"Alright, alright everybody, move along, nothing to see here" Sirius said shrugging off everyone who was looking their way thankful that none of them was a teacher. He then proceeded to take Roxanne and left too.

"Are you alright?" James asked Lily. She smiled gratefully at him.

"Yes, I'm fine" she assured him. "I think I'm going to call it a night though. You guys have fun, please don't let me ruin your night" she told them.

"Lils, are you sure?"

"I'm sure" she said reassuringly. "Good night guys" she said before walking out of the great hall. Cassie turned to look at James who was still looking at the girl who had left.

"Go" she said smiling and James turned to look back at her.

"What? Cassie, I- no I couldn't leave you here just-"

"James if you don't go right now and talk to Lily, I swear I will hex your ass into oblivion! Now go" she said with a small laugh.

"Are you sure?" James asked not really wanting to leave her alone.

Cassie smiled sweetly at him. "What are best friends for, Jamie?"

James leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I love you! You're the best!"

Cassie smiled at the boy who ran off after Lily and made her way outside. She went out to the hallway thinking maybe she could still find Remus but she didn't see him anywhere. She was going to head back to her dorm but saw a lot of girls crying on the stairs and she didn't really want to deal with that. When she noticed it was snowing outside, she made her way out of the castle. She saw a few couples sitting together and kissing each other. She felt her stomach a little sick when she found herself alone, sitting on a cold bench. She hugged herself as she felt snowflakes falling on her, wondering where Remus went. They were so close, once again and once again, they weren't.

"Is this seat taken?" Cassie turned around to smile when she recognized the voice.

"Remmy" she said standing up and facing him. "Um… hi" she said shyly rubbing her arm with her hand.

"Why is it that you always walk out in the snow without a proper jacket?" he asked with a small smile taking off his coat and putting it around her much like last week. Cassie blushed a little but smiled back at him.

"Sorry" she said securing his jacket around herself and putting her arms on the sleeves, the jacket being a little big for her but Remus thought she looked even more gorgeous. "So, um… where's Juliette?" she asked looking down. "I heard you got into a fight with her" she told him and he sighted.

"I'm surprised you didn't hear the actual fight" he said. "She was being rather loud about it" he pointed out.

"What was your fight about?" she asked as they started walking towards the wooden bridge.

"Uh…" Remus said looking down. "She was just upset that I had left her to um… be with you" he started. "So, she said she didn't trust you and she wanted me to stay away from you" he told her. Cassie felt her heart pounding really hard.

"Oh" Cassie said looking away and trying not to show her anger too much. Remus stopped in front of her and lifted her head.

"I told her to piss off" he said smiling down at her.

Cassie let out a shocked chuckle. "Y-you just cursed" she told him.

"She insulted my best friend" he said shrugging his shoulders. He kept on walking and reached the wooden bridge. Cassie smiled and followed close behind him. They both stopped and admire the view of Hogwarts' grounds covered in snow.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Cassie said smiling.

"Yes, it is" Remus said looking at her. "What happened to your hand?" he asked noticing it was a little swollen.

"Oh, I uh-" she said putting it behind her back but Remus looked at her waiting for an answer. "I sort of… punched Amos" she said quietly.

"What? Why?"

"He was yelling at Lily" she told him and then explained what had happened while he was busy arguing with Juliette.

"Wow" Remus said processing all in. "Looks like the night really sucked for all of us, didn't it?"

"Not all of us" Cassie said smiling and pointing at a bench where Alice and Frank were sitting smiling at each other. Remus couldn't help but to smile too.

"You looked really beautiful tonight Cassie" he said turning to look back at her. Even in the cold, Cassie could feel her cheeks burning red but she still managed to smile up at him.

"Thank you" she said nervously placing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Um, Remmy?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you mean what you said earlier today?" she asked timidly. She needed to know. She needed him to know. This might be her last chance. "A-about you wanting to be my date?"

Remus sighted nervously and felt his heart beating faster every second. "I um- yes" he blurted out.

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"Because you wanted to go with another guy" Remus admitted. "And I thought I had to respect that and then… you went with James and I just…" he said frustrated scratching his head. "I got… j-jealous" he finally admitted.

Cassie felt her smile get bigger and she wasn't really expecting what she did next. She laughed. Remus looked back at her with hurt written on his eyes. He had basically just spread his feelings and she was laughing at him.

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry" she said between laughs. "I uh- I didn't mean to laugh is just…" she said biting her lip. "The guy that I wanted to come to the Ball with was- um…" she said before looking down. "You."

Remus wasn't sure if he had heard her right. "What?"

"I uh" Cassie started again. This was it. She needed to let it out. She was tired of missing her chance. "I was going to ask you to the Ball but I got really nervous and when I was going to tell you um- you were already going with Juliette" she said sadly.

"You wanted to come with m-me to the Ball?" he asked still not believing his ears. "Me? Remus?"

"Yes" Cassie said chuckling. "You Remus" she told him.

"W-why?"

"Why what?" Cassie asked confused.

"Why did you want to come with me?"

"Why? You're asking me why?" she said feeling her heart beating faster with every second. Tears were forming in her eyes and she laughed sarcastically when they started falling down her cheeks. "Because, Remus. You're the best person I know" she started. "You're my best friend and you're smart and funny and charming and the sweetest guy that I know and you're always right" she admitted as more tears fell but she kept on smiling. "And whenever something good happens to me you're the first person I want to tell and whenever I'm sad you always, _always_ manage to make me smile just by smiling or you even dance with me if that's what it takes and you read to me whenever I can't sleep and you always give me chocolate" she continued. Remus felt his heart racing with every word she said. "And I don't know how or why but I don't feel like I have to act like something I'm not when I'm around you because you make me feel so special and happy and… safe" she kept going. "And whenever there's a full moon I can't sleep at all. I stay up all night thinking about you and hoping and praying that you are ok because" she stopped when she felt a big lump on her throat. "Because there is no way in this world that I could live without you" she said with more tears falling down her cheeks. "Because I love you, Remus! Not like I love James or Sirius or Regulus, I love you so much that it hurts! I love you in a really big -pretend to like it whenever you talk about 'Hogwarts a History', let you eat my last piece of chocolate, sing to you even if I can't even sing in front of Sirius, unfortunate way that makes me crazy-"

Cassie was cut off by Remus placing his hand on her cheek and leaning down crashing his lips against hers. It took her a second to realize what was actually happening before returning the kiss. Remus placed his arms around her waist and she placed hers around his neck, deepening the kiss. They kept kissing in a slow pace, feeling each other's small smiles and shallow breaths so they wouldn't have to be apart for more than a split of a second until they broke apart gasping for air.

"-love you" Cassie managed to finish what she was saying. "I'm in love with you, Remmy" she whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Guess what?" he asked smiling at her. "I'm in love with you too, Cass" he said before he leaned down to kiss her again.

* * *

 **A/N: A/N: ta-dah! :D there it is! what did you guys think? did you like it? did you hate it? I hope you didn't hate it :) that is it for now... I'll try to post the next chapter by the end of the week! remember suggestions & ideas are always welcome so if there's something you'd like to see or whatever, do not hesitate on telling me! :D thank you so much for following and favoriting me and I really, really love your reviews so... please, let me know what you think ;) and thank you guys again for reading! :D**

 **Song: Paradise By the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf (I absolutely adore that song :D)**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	11. Afire Love

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hi guys! sorry this took a bit more than I intended it too got a little bit of writers block but I powered through it :D now, as usual, I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys are AWESOOOOME SAUCE! a special thanks to Hiimprettyawesomehowboutyou, I am glad you liked it! :D, an anonymous reviewer who gave two AWESOME suggestions (guess what? I'm doing them both ;)), rachelle8, thank you so much for reading and liking my story!, and last but not least, Theharrypotteraddict for your message! :D I am sooo glad you liked it! :) :D and now, here's chapter 11 enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _I could look into your eyes  
Until the sun comes up  
And we're wrapped in light and life and love  
Put your open lips on mine  
And slowly let them shut  
For they're designed to be together, oh  
With your body next to mine  
Our hearts will beat as one  
And we set alight  
We're afire love  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

Cassie woke up the next day with a big smile on her face. She was still wondering if it was just a dream but she knew it wasn't when she felt an arm wrapped around her waist. She turned around to see Remus sleeping next to her and her smile got even bigger. Remus Lupin was in love with her. He was in love with _her_. After the two of them finally admitted their feelings for each other they decided to come back to the Common Room. When they noticed James was passed out in a corner with Lily not far from him, they decided to go up to the boy's dorm. Cassie was certain there was no way Sirius was coming back that night so really, the only one they had to be worried about was Peter but he didn't seem to be in the room either. Cassie didn't really want to be away from him right now, so she decided to stay and Remus wasn't really complaining about it. Still, the Map was on Remus' nightstand and James' cloak was not too far from Cassie just in case. Cassie leaned up to press a kiss against Remus' forehead before she turned around and was about to get up but she felt the arm around her waist tighten a bit.

"So were you just going to use me as a human pillow and then abandon me in the morning?" she couldn't help but giggle at Remus' hoarse voice. She turned around to look at him and saw his eyes were still closed.

"Actually I'd rather think of you as a human teddy bear but maybe that's just me" she said smiling back at him while running her hand through his messy hair. Remus let out a lazy smile and brought Cassie down to his lips.

"Good morning, love" he said smiling up at her.

"Morning" Cassie said biting her lip and fixing her hair a little. Remus pulled her back to his side and wrapped his arms around her again. Cassie felt her smile getting even wider. This didn't only feel right, it felt perfect.

"What?" Remus asked sitting up a little and seeing staring at him.

"Nothing" she said trying to hide her smile. "I just… I don't think I have ever been this happy" she whispered. "I don't want to move" she said closing her eyes again and snuggling in his chest. Remus smiled again before kissing her head.

"Then don't" he said. "Nobody is kicking you out" he told her.

"You know, if Siri finds us like this, he will kill you" she said and he let out a small laugh.

"I can take him" he assured her. "Plus, it'd be worth it" he added. Cassie sat up a little and leaned on her elbow so she could face him. "You look beautiful" he said placing her hair behind her ear. Cassie smiled, blushing a little and looking down but Remus made her look back up and gave her a peck on the lips. "What is it?"

"Nothing" she said a little confused.

"Right. I know you and I know the face you make when you overthink something" he said with a little smile. "What are you thinking?"

"Well… for a minute there, I thought I had dreamed the whole thing" she told him.

Remus smiled even bigger and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "You didn't dream anything, love" he said sitting up. "Would you like me to pinch you so you believe me?" he asked pinching her side.

"Remmy!" she giggled trying to get out of his arms but he didn't let her go.

"I love you" he whispered placing his hand gently on her cheek before he leaned down to kiss her. "You know what else I love?" he said between kisses. "I really love kissing you" he said making Cassie giggle a little as they started kissing more passionately. "And I love your laugh" he whispered before he was about to kiss her again when they heard the door open and Cassie pushed Remus off her and jumped to the side of the bed falling with a loud thump on the floor.

"Nice try, guys. Just be glad it was me and not Padfoot" James said walking in. He smirked when he saw Remus' face was deep red and Cassie appeared from the other side of his bed. He ran over to Remus' bed and plopped himself sitting on it. "So… how did it go last night?"

"Ugh, I think I'm going to regret this" Cassie said burying her face into Remus' mattress.

"Come on! Is only fair that your best friend is the first one to know about you two" James complained as Cassie stood up and sat next to Remus, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be together" he pointed out.

"Don't flatter yourself" Remus said laughing and kissing Cassie's head.

"Yeah, your plan was to lock us up in a storeroom until we revealed our feelings for each other" Cassie told him.

"What?"

"Hey! It would've worked" James argued. "My plan of making you jealous worked" he reminded them. "Although it came with a price" he said rubbing his cheek with his hand.

"Right, sorry about that" Remus said a little awkwardly.

"No worries, mate" James said with a smile. "It was worth it, Lily was worried about me the entire night" he said winking at Cassie. "So, are you guys done with this whole non-talking, dating other people, denying your feelings for each other, thing?" he asked with a small smirk.

Cassie turned to smile at Remus and he kissed her cheek. "We are" Remus told him.

"Finally! Pads owes me six galleons!" he said when he saw his two friends glaring at him. "On… a totally different bet" he assured them.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but… I don't want my brother to find me here and I don't want my roommates to wonder where I am so…" Cassie said getting up. "I'll see you at breakfast?" she asked leaning down to kiss Remus' lips again.

"Can't wait" he said smiling against her lips.

"Ew! If I knew it was going to be like this I would've given up on you two" James said making a disgusted face. Cassie rolled her eyes and hugged him while messing his hair.

"Thanks, Jamie" she said kissing his cheek and walking out of the dorm. As soon as she closed the door she bumped into someone, making her fall flat on her butt.

"Cass?" _Bullocks._

"Uh, hi S-Siri" she said getting up and smiling innocently at her.

"Are you just coming out of my dorm?"

"Are you just getting in?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I asked first" he said starting to feel a little angry.

"I-uh came… looking… for… you?" she tried biting her lip.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?" Sirius said walking closer to her and making her back hit the door of his dorm. "I was born five minutes _before_ you" he said getting more upset.

"R-right" Cassie said letting out a nervous laugh.

"Is that Moony's sweatshirt?" he continued. "And his boxers?"

"Uh- I um, gotta go" she said opening the door behind her and running inside. She was about to close the door once she was inside but Sirius stopped her.

"Nice try" he said fuming.

"Cassie?" Remus asked confused when she was inside again.

"Run" she said before the door burst open, making Cassie fall to the side, and Sirius stormed inside.

"REMUS JOHN LUPIN!"

"Oh, come on, are middle names really necessary-?"

"I'm not talking to you, Cassiopeia Melania" Sirius said glaring at her.

"Really?" Cassie said rolling her eyes as she stood up. Sirius ignored her and turned his dirty look back to Remus.

"Explain this" he said between clenched teeth.

"W-well, um P-Padfoot" Remus started walking towards his friend. He would never admit it, neither would James, but out the four of them, if he was angry or if it involved Cassie, Sirius was probably the one who could kill them all… with one hand.

"Why was _my sister_ leaving _our_ dorm in _your_ clothes?" Sirius asked getting angrier every second.

"Uh, well b-because-"

"Because I spent the night here" Cassie said rolling her eyes.

"Cassie!"

"You WHAT?" Sirius said turning to look at her.

"I spent the night here" she repeated shrugging her shoulders. Remus felt sweat coming through his forehead. This was it. Sirius was going to kill him. "What is the big deal? I've done it before" she told him.

"Yes, when I'm in the room! But you are not allowed to stay here with Moony when no one else is here!"

"I am _not allowed_?" Cassie said getting as upset as her brother. "Who the bloody hell are you to tell me what I'm not allowed to do?"

"I am your _older_ brother-"

"Ugh! Five minutes! You're five _bloody_ minutes older than me!"

"It's still older!"

"What the bloody hell is all the yelling?" James said coming out of the bathroom.

"Stay out of it, Potter!"

"Sirius, calm down!"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Sirius yelled pointing his wand at Remus. Cassie quickly ran over there and put herself in the middle of them.

"Sirius! Put down your wand!" Cassie said glaring at her brother.

"Get out of the way" Sirius told her.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to hex Remus?"

"I might, although I wouldn't mind hexing you first if you don't move!"

"Alright Sirius, enough!" Remus said frustrated stepping in front of Cassie. "You're not hexing anyone-"

"The hell I am! That's my sister!" he said pointing at Cassie behind him.

"I know!" Remus said trying to calm him down.

"And you are my best friend!"

"I know!"

"Hey!" James complained.

"And you hurt her!"

"I know!"

"She cried over you for like a week!"

"I know!" Remus said feeling really bad about it.

"And I'm not just going to stand here and watch you do it all over again!"

"I KNOW!" Remus snapped back at him. "I know I screwed up Pads, but I'm not going to do it again" he said as both boys calmed down a little. "I love Cassie, alright? And I promise you that I would _never_ hurt her" he said truthfully.

Cassie felt her cheeks turn a bit red as she smiled behind Remus. Sirius looked from to Cassie and then back at him. He walked closer to him and kept his stare on the taller boy.

"Alright" he said in a serious tone. "But know this" he said narrowing his eyes. "If you ever hurt my sister in _any single way_ and I will not hesitate to hex you, got it?"

Remus only nodded to his friend before Cassie pushed him aside and hugged Sirius.

"Thanks, Siri" she said kissing his cheek.

"And no being alone in our dorm! That's disgusting!" he said messing Cassie's hair. "Or making out in front of me!"

"I actually second that petition" James said from his spot and both Remus and Cassie rolled their eyes.

"Fair enough" she said. "Now, I'm going to go change and I'll meet you guys for breakfast. I'm starving!" she said walking out of the boys' dorm. She quickly made it to her dorm thankful that the Common Room was still pretty empty. Her dorm, though, that was a different story.

"Oh my God! Cassie!" Lily threw herself at her.

"Finally, Lily was about to inform Professor Dumbledore that you had been taken in your sleep apparently" Marlene said rolling her eyes. "As if _she_ was here last night" she said with a smirk and Lily glared at her.

"Oh that's right" Cassie said as Lily let go of her. "I remember seeing you a little too close to Mr. Potter, did I not?" Cassie asked her smirking.

"And where did you disappear to, if I may ask?" Lily said back at her.

"Are you wearing Remus' clothes?" Marlene noticed making Cassie's face as red as the colors of her house.

"Uh, I um- yes?"

Lily and Marlene looked at each other with identical smiles on their faces before they let out the highest pitch scream Cassie was sure she had heard in her entire life.

"Girls, really?" she said covering her ears as Alice came out of the bathroom.

"What is going on?" she asked confused.

"Cassie and Remus!" they both yelled at the same time as they hugged the black-haired witch and continued screaming.

"Would you give it a rest?" Cassie asked trying to get out of their embrace. "I need to breathe!"

"What happened?" Alice asked excited sitting on her bed as Cassie finally managed to unglue herself from the other two.

"Well, um after his fight with Juliette, which apparently everyone heard, and after James went to see if Lily was ok, I went out to the gardens and Remus came and found me and well, he gave me his jacket and we started… talking about everything and…."

"And?" Alice said knowing Lily and Marlene would probably explode if she didn't continue.

"He kissed me" she said with a big smile and the three girls were now screaming again.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Sirius asked as he, James and Remus came through the door with their wands ready.

"What are you doing?" Marlene asked confused.

"Your screams can be heard all the way to our dorms!" James informed her and Cassie let out a big laugh when the other three girls blushed a little.

"Right, um, sorry about that" Lily said smiling at them.

"Are you girls alright?" Remus asked concerned looking at Cassie.

"Yeah, um, the girls were just a bit excited" she said winking at him and making him blush a little.

"Oh, for the love of God" Sirius said rolling his eyes and leaving the dorm with James behind him.

"Well, um" Remus said scratching the back of his head. "I'll uh- see you girls at breakfast" he said before he kissed Cassie's head and left too.

"Oh, Merlin, that was adorable" Alice said smiling brightly at her.

"So, are you two finally going out now?" Lily asked them.

"Um, well, I guess so" Cassie said a little confused. "I don't know, we haven't really talked about it" she said rubbing her arm and lifting the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"Well, what did he say yesterday?" Marlene asked her.

"He said he loved me" Cassie said smiling and they screamed again. "Would you girls stop that?"

"Sorry" they apologized. "Well, maybe it's not official yet but come on, if you guys already admitted your feelings for each other, is only a matter of time" Alice told her.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Cassie said smiling. She didn't really mind. She was just happy with the way things were. She loved Remus and he loved her and that was the best feeling in the entire world for her.

After the girls finished getting ready, Cassie pretty much refusing to get out of Remus' sweatshirt, but changing the boxers for jeans, they headed down for breakfast and joined the boys. Cassie took her seat next to Remus who had a plate full of pancakes and bacon waiting just for her.

"Hi" she said smiling at him and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Hi" he said kissing the side of her head. "I like my sweater on you" he said smiling.

"I'm glad because I wasn't planning on giving it back" she said taking the first bite.

"This is disgusting, I am going to return my breakfast" Sirius complained, with his mouth full.

"Oh, please, stop being so dramatic" Lily said laughing at him.

"Wait, what is going on?" Peter asked confused. "Are you guys-? Are you guys together now?" he asked sounding a little more upset than he meant to.

"Yes" Remus said throwing his arm around Cassie's shoulder. "Why?"

"No reason" Peter said shrugging his shoulders. "Just didn't know" he said before he went back to his breakfast.

Cassie noticed that a few people from outside the group had heard. She noticed the looks everyone in the Great Hall was giving them. A lot of boys were glaring at Remus and a lot of girls, including Juliette, were glaring at her.

"Just ignore them, love" Remus whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek.

That's all it took for her to forget all about that. She could really get used to this. Everything felt like it… fit. Remus and her were just back to being the way they were before but, even better now. She couldn't care less about the looks those girls were giving her. Or the look her cousin was giving her from her table as it looked like she was about to throw up, or Lucius Malfoy glaring at her but with a hint of evil in his eyes. She just snuggled closer to Remus, listening to everyone talk about the Ball last night and kept on eating her breakfast, remembering just how perfect last night and this morning had been.

* * *

Over the next week, Cassie and Remus were inseparable. The two of them were sitting at the Common Room in front of the fire place, snuggled against each other, asleep. The fire was almost out. Remus woke up and noticed someone had put a blanket over them, probably Lily. He turned around to see Cassie still asleep in his arms. He smiled at the sleeping girl. He had never felt this happy in his entire life. The past week had been amazing. Even the day after the full-moon hadn't been that bad. Cassie had stayed with him the entire day reading, and singing to him, and eating all kinds of junk food and making out of course. He couldn't believe that his best friend was in love with him.

"Cass" Remus whispered.

"Hmm?" the girl said still asleep. Remus let out a small laugh and kissed her head.

"Do you want to head down for breakfast?"

"BREAKFAST?" she said sitting up quickly. "We stayed here all night?"

"Looks like it" Remus said pointing at the window where the sun was already out. Cassie groaned complaining and snuggled back against Remus. "I'll tell you what" he said. "Why don't we go get some food and we come back here so we can sleep a little more" he suggested. Cassie sat up lazily and turned around to face him.

"I think that's a great idea" she said leaning down to kiss him. Remus got up and helped her up too. They made their way to the Great Hall hand in hand where they spotted the other three Marauders, Frank and Cassie's roommates.

"Hi guys" Marlene greeted them.

"Morning" Remus said sitting down with Cassie by his side.

"Did you guys stayed in the Common Room last night again?" Peter asked them.

"Yeah" Remus said putting food on his plate and Cassie's. "We were reading and just… fell asleep I guess" he said. "Coffee, love?" Cassie nodded resting her head on Remus' shoulder.

"I'm actually glad that _you_ deal with morning Cassie" Sirius said laughing and making his sister glare at him. That was until Remus placed a cup of coffee in front of her.

"Thank you, love" she said smiling up at him and kissing his cheek.

"Once again, I hope you liked my breakfast, because you're about to see it again" Sirius said.

"You're nauseating" Cassie said rolling her eyes and drinking her coffee.

The group quickly started to talk about their plans for Christmas. Lily said she was staying home and even invited them to come over for New Years. Frank was going to visit his grandmother. Alice and Marlene were staying at Hogwarts since their parents didn't have any vacation for Christmas. And the Marauders, plus Cassie were all going to James' house. Peter was only going to be there for the first few days, since he was going to his mother's family for Christmas like every year. Cassie was so excited to spend the Christmas break with her boyfriend. Well, they still hadn't officially said they were boyfriend and girlfriend but they pretty much acted like it. She honestly didn't care. She was happy with how things were and she was spending two entire weeks with him and no one in school who were always giving them stupid stares.

Yes, everything was going great. That was until a black, big, mean-looking and quite scary, eagle owl flew into the Great Hall and landed right in front of Cassie. He was holding an envelope with the words 'Cassiopeia M. Black' on it. Everyone knew that owl. It belonged to the Black family. The rest of the teenagers sitting around her, minus Sirius, stared a little shocked, contemplating the bird. They had seen it a couple of times on the first few years, but over the past ones, the owl only delivered mail to Regulus. Sirius' eyes were as wide as Cassie's and they never left each other. They both knew exactly what it was.

"Th-thanks Rigel" she muttered grabbing the envelope from him. The bird let out a high pitch howl at the girl, making everyone cringe their faces at the loud noise, before it flew away.

"What's that, love?" Remus asked getting closer to her and ignoring Lily's, Alice's and Marlene's smirks.

"Uh, n-nothing" Cassie said trying to smile. "It's probably nothing, don't worry about it" she said brushing it off.

"Are you sure?" Remus asked noticing the girl tense up as she put the envelope away.

"Y-yeah-"

"Cassie" they all heard Regulus coming towards the group. "Uh, I saw Rigel flying in" he commented. "Did he not find me and give it to you?" he asked knowing as much as everyone else that it was close to never when the Black parents would write to either Sirius or Cassie, and whenever they did, it was mostly a howler.

"Uh, n-no" Cassie said nervously. "It's for me" she told him.

"It's for you?" the youngest Black asked getting the exact same look both of his siblings had just a minute ago.

"Yeah" Cassie nodded showing him the envelope with her name on it.

"Siri?" Regulus asked looking at his brother getting a little scared. Sirius, seeing the look on both of his siblings, decided to stand up, got up on the bench and the table, making his way to the other side and took the letter from Cassie's hand.

"Mr. Black!" he heard Professor McGonagall from the teacher's table but ignored her.

"Sirius!" Cassie complained as everyone else looked confused at the three siblings.

"Come on" he said looking at them "We're settling this right now" he told them. Regulus and Sirius looked at Cassie waiting for her to stand up.

She turned to look apologetically at Remus and sighted. "I'll be right back, ok?" she said with a sad smile.

"Cassie, what's going on? Is everything alright?" he asked getting worried.

"Yeah, um" she said looking back at the rest of their friends looking at her. "I'll tell you about it later" she said with pleading eyes. Not wanting to upset the girl even more, Remus nodded and kissed her forehead.

"I'll save your plate" he said smiling warmly at her.

"Let's go!" Sirius said grabbing Cassie's arm and dragging her out of the Great Hall and into the first empty classroom they could find.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Regulus asked. "Why is mother writing to _you_?"

"That's exactly what I want to know!" Sirius said looking at the girl too. "What the bloody hell did you do?"

"It wasn't mother" Cassie muttered looking at the floor.

"What?" they both asked getting even more worried.

"Mother didn't write to me" she said looking up at them and they both saw the fear in her eyes. That only meant… "It was _father_."

"Oh shit" Sirius muttered.

Sirius felt his heart pounding as hard as he could only imagine Regulus' and Cassie's heart were. He read the envelope in his hand recognizing his father's penmanship. His father _never_ wrote. He was barely around their house and when he was, he did everything that was possible to avoid any kind of conversation with his children. Whenever Sirius or Cassie did something wrong, which according to them was all the time, it was their mother who would scream at them or send a howler but never their father.

"B-but father _never_ writes" Regulus said getting as scared as his older siblings were.

"Do you want to open it?" Sirius asked her.

Cassie bit her lip and felt sick to her stomach. She didn't really want to, but this was going to come back and bite her even worse if she didn't so she nodded. She hesitatingly took the envelope from Sirius and both of her brothers noticed that she was shaking. She quickly opened the envelope and took the letter out. She grabbed the parchment with both of her hands and read out loud.

" _Cassiopeia Melania-_

 _I have just been informed by Abraxas Malfoy, who was told by Lucius, about your relationship with a young man named Remus John Lupin-"_

"What? You're going out with Lupin?" Regulus asked confused. He had seen the two friends getting closer over the past week and he had heard the rumors, but he didn't know it was anything official.

"Shh!" Sirius scolded him. "Go on" he said looking at Cassie who started over.

" _Cassiopeia Melania-_

 _I have just been informed by Abraxas Malfoy, who was told by Lucius, about your relationship with a young man named Remus John Lupin._

 _I expect both you and your brother, Sirius Orion, to come home in the Hogwarts Express tomorrow for the Christmas break, along with Regulus Arcturus. We will be discussing the situation then. You are both forbidden to go to James Potter's house for your vacation._

 _As for this young man you are involved with, your mother insists on you to bring him to dinner tomorrow night._

 _I will see you and your brothers tomorrow._

 _Orion A. Black"_

"What?" Cassie said looking at the last sentence in the letter. "They want Remus to come to the house?"

"We can't go to James' house for Christmas?" Sirius asked upset taking the letter from Cassie's hand.

"What the bloody hell is happening?" Regulus asked equally confused as the other two.

"I don't know" Sirius told them. "But this isn't good."

"So, what do we do?" Regulus asked him.

"There's nothing we _can_ do" Sirius said. "We all know that if we don't follow this, it will only get worse" he said pointing at the letter in his hand. "So, I guess we're going home tomorrow" he sighted.

"Remus can't come home" Cassie said looking at her two brothers.

"Cassie, I know you don't want him to" Sirius told her. "But if father is telling you to bring him, you know he will find another way to make it happen if you don't" he told her.

"But Siri-"

"Look, we can deal with this later, alright?" he said hugging her. "Let's just go finish breakfast" he told them. Regulus nodded and walked out of the class. Sirius was about to follow him when he noticed Cassie didn't move. "Hey" he said softly. "It'll be ok" he assured her.

"He's a half-blood Siri" Cassie said worryingly. "They're going to tear him apart! And what if they know that he's a werewolf? And he's going to come to our house! Our dark, hideous, cold house where we can't even act like ourselves-"

"Cassie, stop" Sirius told her placing his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I doubt that they know he's a werewolf. Nobody but us, the teachers and Moony's father knows" he assured her. "All we know is that we have to be there tomorrow and we can't go to James'" he said.

"Yeah, sorry about that" she said looking down knowing it was all her fault.

"Look at me" Sirius said gently and she slowly looked back at him. "I wouldn't have let you do this alone in a million years" he said kissing her forehead. "Whatever it is father is doing, I'm going to be there with you" he assured her. "I promise you we will be alright" he said hugging her. Cassie wrapped her arms around his waist and felt a little better.

"Alright" she said quietly.

"Now, come on. I'm starving" he said letting go of her and grabbing her hand.

"You're always starving" Cassie said letting out a little laugh.

* * *

"Cassie, would you please tell me what's going on?" Remus asked for about the tenth time. Cassie didn't speak. She simply led him to the same empty classroom where she had been in with her brothers in the middle of breakfast. "Cassie, you're worrying me. You barely touched your food and you didn't speak for the rest of breakfast" he said when she stopped and looked at him. "What's going on, love?"

Cassie sighted and played with the hem of the sweatshirt with her hands. Remus could tell she was really nervous. "Um- ok" she started. But she wasn't really sure where to start. "Uh, well…" she said biting her lip. "Um, here's the thing- uh" she sighted frustrated. "Alright, um-"

"Cassie" Remus said getting more worried. Remus saw her shake. She was a ball of nerves. "Love, calm down" he said grabbing her hands and leading her towards a chair. He kneeled down in front of her and waited for her breathing to be a little more even. "Ok, what's wrong, love?"

"Um, well, you know that um- well, Siri and I rarely talk about our parents because" she said looking down at their hands. "Well, ever since we were placed in Gryffindor we've become pretty much invisible to them" she continued. "Um, the thing is uh- they're… they're not very nice people" she admitted. "You know that um… my relationship with my mother is, not um… the best one to put it in a nice way" she said trying her best not to cry.

"Cassie, did your mother say something to you in that letter that made you this upset?" he asked thinking he knew the answer but was surprised when she shook her head no.

"My mother didn't write the letter" she told him. "My father did" she said not looking at him. Remus paled a little. If there was one thing that the twins had always said was worse than their mother, was their father.

"Um… your father?"

"Yes" she said thinking it was just better to get everything out.

"What um- what did he say?" Remus asked getting nervous. He knew perfectly well that he didn't exactly want to just wish his daughter a happy Christmas.

"He knows about us" she informed him.

"He does? U-um- how does he-?"

"Malfoy" she told him looking down.

"Malfoy told him?" Remus asked confused.

"He told his father and his father told my father" Cassie explained to him.

"Why does Malfoy even care that you're with me?"

"I don't know" Cassie said looking down and biting her lip. "Um, that's not all" she said shyly making Remus panic even more. "He said that Sirius and I are not allowed to go to James' house for Christmas" she told him sadly.

"You're not coming?" he asked getting as upset as she was. He had been excited the entire year about spending Christmas with Cassie, and now it was supposed to be even better. "Why?"

"Because he said we couldn't go" she replied with a sad tone. "And… he wants you to come to my house tomorrow night for dinner" she finished.

"What?" Remus knew something was wrong if her parents were writing her, but he never imagined _this_ was it. "He uh- he wants me to come to your house?" he asked getting up and letting go of her hands. "Your father wants me to have dinner at your house?"

"Yes" Cassie said nervously biting her lip again.

"I am going to meet your parents?" Remus said freaking out.

"Yes" she repeated. "I mean, if you want to" she said bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "You don't have to come if you don't want to" she said sadly looking away. "I'm not exactly thrilled about the whole thing" she mumbled.

Remus saw how upset she got and kneeled down back in front of her. He placed his hand on her cheek and made her face him again.

"No, Cassie, no, is not that I don't want to. I'd do anything for you" he assured her. "You know that. And yeah, I just may be a little bit nervous about meeting your parents but I'll come" he told her. "Do you… not want me to come?" he asked confused.

"No! Is not that! Is nothing like that, Remmy, believe me, nothing, in this world makes me happier than being with you but… I'm embarrassed about them!" she said honestly. "You don't know how my mother is with me-"

"I know she can be a bit-"

"No. You _don't_ know" Cassie said turning to look at him in the eyes. "She is going to serve me about an eighth part of what I usually eat and still say that I'm fat, and she's going to say that I'm a disgrace of a daughter for not looking like my cousins all the time or for playing Quidditch or that I am never going to find a guy who is going to love me because… why would he?" she said letting out a sarcastic laugh. Remus felt his blood boiling but she kept on going before he could say something. "And she will say things about you! She probably knows you're a half-blood and she is going to tell you that you're not worthy of being a wizard because you're not a pure-blood and she-" she stopped when a few tears escaped her eyes. "She might even say bad things about your mother" she said wiping away the tears with the sleeve of her coat. "Because she was a muggle, but Remmy, I just… please, you have to know… you _need_ to know that neither Sirius nor I think that way! I love you! And I could care less if you're a pure-blood or a half-blood or a muggle-born or a muggle!" she said while tears kept on streaming down her face. "Remmy, you don't know what they're like. They're horrible people! They're not like Mr. and Mrs. Potter!" she told him. "They're going to be telling you mean and terrible things and they will also say nasty things about me and Sirius and I just don't want you to hate me after you-"

Cassie was cut off by Remus pulling her towards his lips. After a while of kissing her he pulled away but rested his forehead on hers. "Cassie, listen to me carefully" he said in a steady tone. "I could _never_ hate you" he assured her. "All that matters to me is what _you_ think of me! It will be hard for me to hear her talking about you that way because you're the most beautiful girl in the entire world for me! I _love_ you and nothing in this world, not even your parents, can change that" he said kissing her forehead.

"You promise?" she asked nervously and he wiped away the remaining tears with his thumbs. Remus gave her another peck on the lips before smiling at her.

"I promise, love" he said making her smile just a little bit.

"Thank you" she said throwing her arms around his shoulders and burying her face on his neck.

"Anytime, love" he said kissing her head. "Now, come on" he said wiping away the tear on her cheek and kissing her forehead. "I need that Charms book so I can read it over the break" he said pulling her out of the classroom.

"Ugh, are you really going to read over the break?" she mocked him.

"Well, since I'm not going to be spending it with my girlfriend, I thought I'd read a bit-" he stopped when he felt her stop moving. "What?" he asked looking at her surprised face.

"I'm um- I'm your girlfriend?" she asked with a smile.

"Well, yeah" Remus said shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, uh, if you want to" he said getting nervous. "Uh if you'd like me to I don't know ask in a more romantic way I-"

This time, Remus was cut off by Cassie standing on her tiptoes and crashing her lips against his. "That was actually perfect" she said smiling against his lips. "Let's go get your book" she said holding his hand and leading him to the Library.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind forgetting about the book and keep doing what we were doing" he whispered smiling at her.

"I wouldn't mind that either but then you're going to be stuck playing chess with Peter or Quidditch with James during the break" she told him. Remus thought about it for a little while.

"Alright, we get the book and then we continue this" he suggested.

"Sounds like a great plan" she said leaning up to kiss him before leading him to the Library again.

The couple made it to the Library and while Remus went to look for his book, Cassie decided to look for one as well. Remus finally found the book he was looking for and he was about to go check it out, when he bumped into someone.

"Lupin" the third Black sibling was standing at the end of the aisle waiting for him.

"Uh, Regulus" Remus said acknowledging him. "Hi."

"Hi" he simply replied.

"Were you uh- looking for Cassie?" he asked. "She's around here somewhere-"

"Actually I wanted to talk to you" he told him.

"M-me?"

"Yes, you" he said.

"Uh, sure" Remus said confused.

"My sister told me this morning that you two are going out" Regulus started.

"Um, yes, we are" Remus told him.

"I'm going to be honest with you, when I met you I didn't like you. But that was mainly because I saw you as my replacement with both of my siblings, along with Potter and Pettigrew" he informed him.

"Uh, ok?" Remus said confused.

"But, over the last couple of months I have seen the way you and my sister act towards each other and, even with some stupid decisions you've made that made her cry over you, I trust Cassie and her judgment so if she trusts you then… I should too" he said making Remus a little less nervous.

"Well, uh thank you-?"

"However, you should know that Cassie is the most important person in my life. As much as I love Sirius, he turned his back on me when I was sorted in Slytherin, but Cassie never did. She has been the best sister I could ever ask for and I love her very deeply. So, if you ever hurt her Lupin, I swear I would curse you even worse than I'm sure Sirius has already threatened you-"

"Actually, Sirius said-"

"See, is not the same. Because, deep down, he's your best friend, so if you hurt Cassie, even if he would really hex you, there would still be the whole friendship in between. But not me. We're not friends, so trust me when I tell you that I would have no problem by hurting you even worse than how Sirius thinks he could" he finished.

"Can I talk now?" Remus asked him.

"Yes" Regulus simply said.

"Well, first of all I think is nice that you care so much for your sister" he pointed out. "And I just wanted to assure you that Cassie is the most important person in my entire life. I love her more than anybody else in this world and I promise you, that I would _never_ hurt her" he told him.

"Fair enough" Regulus told him. "That's really all I needed to hear" he said. "Oh, and another thing, I'm guessing my sister has already told you that you're meeting our parents?"

"Uh, yeah she mentioned it" Remus said getting nervous all over again. "Why?"

"Well, if you're really willing to do that for her, I guess you really _do_ love her" he said before he turned around and walked away from Remus.

"Hey" Cassie said coming over from the other side. "Did you find your book?"

"Uh, I did" he said showing her the book in his hand.

"Well then, shall we go?" she asked holding his other hand as they both made their way out of the Library.

* * *

"Bloody hell!" Sirius jumped scared when his door burst open revealing his sister in a dress he knew his mother had picked out for her. "Looking fancy, sis" he mocked her.

"Shut up!" she said walking over to him by his window. "I need one" she said grabbing the pack of cigarettes he had on the bench, grabbing one and lighting it up.

It was weird. Cassie had expected for her parents to talk to her the minute she walked through the door, but they didn't. It was pretty much normal. Her mother only greeted them coldly when they came in and she hadn't even seen her father. And now, they were just waiting for Remus to arrive for this whole circus to begin. She wasn't even sure what to expect, really. She just hoped it wasn't as bad as she imagined it would be.

"You know Moony would freak out if he smells smoke on your breath" he said laughing a little.

"I don't care! I am wearing a dress one size too small, I can barely walk in these bloody shoes" she said taking them of. "My hair looks like mother's and I haven't eaten anything since we got off the Hogwarts Express" she snapped back at him.

"It'll be alright Cass" Sirius assured her. "Look, I spent all last night telling Moony what to do and what not to do" he said. "We know how this will go. Father will barely talk, other than asking what Moony's father does for a living and what he plans on doing for a living. And mother would drop hints about how he's not worthy to be a wizard because he's a half-blood. I already told him to not take it personal, is not our fault our parents are idiots" he said taking another puff of his cigarette.

"Well, is not just them!" she told him. "The bloody portraits are going to be screaming at him and ugh Kreacher!" she said rolling her eyes and taking another puff too.

"Oh, come on, you cannot worry about that stupid little creature" Sirius said laughing.

"I will kick him if I have to" she assured him making him laugh harder.

"Look, Moony is a smart guy" Sirius assured her. "He's not going to let our parents get to him. And once this is over, they are just going to let this pass and go back to ignoring us like they always do" he simply said.

"Do you really think so? They have never done something like this before" she said a little nervous.

"Well, granted I don't know what's gotten into them" Sirius said shrugging his shoulders. "But I assumed that if they were going to nag you about it, they would've done it by now. Who knows? Maybe we can even go to James' after tonight" he told her.

"Ugh! I can't use this in my head" she said annoyed taking the feathers her mother had put in her hair earlier. "Oops" she said tossing them out of the window and Sirius only laughed.

"Better" he said smiling when they heard a knock on the door. The twins quickly gave one last puff at their cigarettes before putting them down and tossing them out the window. They let the smoke out and Cassie closed the windows door. "Come in!"

Regulus opened the door and walked inside. "Were you guys smoking?"

"Never!" both twins replied at the same time and Regulus rolled his eyes.

"Sirius, mother sent me to get you so she can see what you're wearing tonight" he informed her. Sirius rolled his eyes while Cassie smirked at him a little.

"Shut up! It's still better than what you're wearing" he mocked her.

" _Anything_ is better than what I'm wearing" she said rolling her eyes. "I can't breathe in this thing" she said getting up and walking over to her brothers.

"Masters Black, your mother is waiting for you" Kreacher said coming towards the three siblings.

"We'll be right there" Sirius said rolling his eyes but Regulus was already walking down the hall.

"Nasty little blood traitor brat" Kreacher growled as he followed Regulus.

"Sorry, didn't catch that" Cassie said coming next to Sirius.

"Kreacher said nothing, Miss" he said glaring at her. "And there's its twin, unnatural little beasts they are" he said as he walked away.

"I think we're growing on him, wouldn't you say?" Sirius said laughing looking at Cassie.

"A bit" she said laughing too. "Shouldn't you be on your way to mother's room to get dressed?"

"Ugh! Don't remind me" Sirius said turning around and walking towards the last door in the hall.

Cassie laughed a little rolling her eyes and made her way to her bedroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't look like her at all. The dress her mother had made her wear was nothing like the one she wore for the Ball. And in top of it all, she made her wear gloves. She hated gloves. The only thing that sort of looked like her was her hair since she had pulled the feathers off. She made her way to her bed and grabbed Remus sweatshirt. The one she wore the night they got together. She hugged her to herself and smelled it. It smelled just like him. She still couldn't believe just how lucky she was. But then she felt her stomach turning at the thought of him coming here and meeting her parents. She knew her mother was going to do anything in her power to put her down and make Remus look at her the way she did. And if that wasn't enough, her father would make sure to make Remus feel bad only because of what his father does for a living. She jumped a little when the door opened and Sirius came inside with a suit with his tie undone.

"Would you mind? Whenever mother does it, she puts it a little too tight" he said rolling his eyes. Cassie stood up and walked over to her brother to fix his tie. "Merlin, you are sweating!"

"Shut up! I don't sweat, I glisten" she said trying to make the sweat stop.

"Well, you're glistening like a pig" Sirius said handing her his handkerchief. She was about to reply, when they heard the doorbell ringing.

Remus was here.

* * *

 **A/N: tan tan taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan (dramatic music) hahaha ok, so that's it for now! I'll try my best to post next chapter where Remus meets the Blacks as soon as I can! as always, suggestions are very welcome... and so are reviews! :D hahaha thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you likeeed it! let me know what you think :)**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	12. Lego House

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **hi guys! sorry this took a bit more than I intended I've been really busy but I have more time now :D so, first, like always, I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys are THE BOMB! and, obviously a special thanks to my lovely reviewers! :D WizardDemigodAvian-American thank you so much for both your reviews! :D I'm glad you liked Jordan and chapter 7 ;), Sjo thank you for your reviews! I could feel your emotions lol :), Hummelberry94, thank you SO MUCH! :D I am really glad you liked it! sorry it took a while to update ;), thank you to an anonymous reviewer, I am very happy that you liked it... and my other anonymous reviewer with the awesome ideas! here's idea number 2! I hope you like it as much as you liked the first one! (your suggestions rock btw), and last but definitely not least, thank you imketys! I am so glad you liked it and I did apply your idea here so hope you like it ;) :D and now, ladies and gentlemen, I leave you with chapter 12 enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _I'm gonna pick up the pieces and build a Lego house  
If things go wrong we can knock it down  
My three words have two meanings,  
But there's one thing on my mind...  
It's all for you  
And it's dark in a cold December, but I've got you to keep me warm  
If you're broken I will mend you  
And I'll keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on, now  
I'm out of touch, I'm out of love  
I'll pick you up when you're getting down  
And out of all these things I've done,  
I think I love you better now  
I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind  
I'll do it all for you in time  
And out of all these things I've done,  
I think I love you better now  
Now  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Remus Lupin stood there between the numbers 11 and 13, realizing none of the neighbors were bothered by the fact that there was not a number 12. But he knew the Black house was under the Fidelius Charm. Once the house was revealed in front of him, he felt his heart pounding. This was it. He knew stories about the Black family and would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous… no, not nervous… _scared_ of this dinner. But he wanted to do it for Cassie. To prove to her that he would love her no matter what. So, he took a deep breath and walked over to the front door, ringing the bell. He heard a loud high-pitch growl which he could only assume was Rigel. He waited a few minutes before he heard mumbling on the other side of the door.

"Shut up, stupid bird!" he smiled hearing his girlfriend's voice inside. "Get out of here, you rat!" Cassie said pushing Kreacher out of the way.

"Kreacher must open the door! It was Mistress orders" the elf complained glaring at the Black sister.

"I don't care what my mother told you to do! Get out of here now!" Cassie threatened, looking down at him. Kreacher kept his glare on her before he started walking away from the door muttering insults about her.

"Is he here?" Sirius asked walking behind her.

"Yes" Cassie said trying to fix her dress and her hair. "How do I look?"

"Like mother" Sirius mocked her and Cassie punched him in the arm. "Ouch!"

"Hi, guys" the werewolf said smiling at the siblings when Cassie opened the door.

"Hey, mate" Sirius said greeting his friend before Cassie pushed him out of the way and threw herself at Remus wrapping her arms around his waist. Remus quickly enveloped his arms around her.

"Hi" she said feeling completely happy in his arms. She stood on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips ignoring Sirius' face.

"Hi, love" he said kissing her forehead. "Did you smoke?"

"What-? No!" Cassie said trying to sound offended. "I uh- Sirius was smoking and he blew smoke directly into my mouth!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and Remus let out a small laugh. "This is for you" he said handing her one red tulip. Cassie felt her heart fluttered as she took it.

"Thank you, love" she said giving him another peck on the lips.

"You look-"

"Do not finish that" Cassie said glaring up at him. "If you say something good I am not going to believe you and if you say something bad I will believe you and hit you" she threatened. "My mother made me wear it" she told him.

"Come on in, mate" Sirius said grabbing Remus' coat.

Remus stepped inside into a long hallway, lit by a large chandelier and gas lamps. On one side of the hallway was the dining room, which featured a dresser holding the Black family crest and china. At the end of the hallway were the stairs to the upper floors, decorated with a row of shrunken House-elf heads, mounted on the wall on plaques.

"Uh, those are… all the house-elves that have served the Black Family" Cassie said awkwardly as they made their way to the first floor.

Once they reached it, they went directly into the drawing room. The drawing room had long windows facing the street in front of the house, a large fireplace, and the tapestry of the Black family tree. Above the fireplace, Remus saw a portrait of the Black family. Mr. and Mrs. Black were sitting in the front with their three children standing behind them. Regulus in the middle and both Sirius and Cassie looked a bit apart from the rest of them. The Black house was not at all like anything Remus had seen. It wasn't warm or cozy at all. It was too different from the house he grew up in. Even after his mother passed away, and his father wasn't really the warmest man, his house still felt like… a home. This house felt like a haunted mansion from one of Remus books. More specifically, like the Beast's mansion in Beauty and the Beast. Cassie had actually described it like that to him at some point.

"So, how do you like the crazy house from hell?" Sirius asked his friend.

"It's quite… impressive" Remus admitted.

"Cassiopeia" the three teenagers turned around to face Walburga Black standing at the door of the room.

"And speak of the devil" Sirius muttered to Remus.

Remus' breath got caught up in his throat when he turned around to face Walburga Black. Mrs. Black was an exceptionally attractive woman. Remus could tell that she must've been gorgeous when she was younger. She had long, golden brown hair that reached just below her shoulders. Her pale skin was flawless, her makeup and dress were impeccable. She reminded him of a mix of the three Black sisters with just a hint of Cassie; her eyes. She had the same deep grey eyes as Cassie. Except hers, were filled with… despise.

"I specifically told Kreacher to attend the door. A lady never answers the door, we have been through this, and what did you do to your hair?"

"I fixed it, mother" Cassie replied with a fake smile. "And I answered the door because I didn't want that _thing_ to welcome Remus into our house" she added.

That's when Mrs. Black turned to look at the boy that wasn't her child. "Mr. Lupin" she said with a smile faker than the one Cassie had given her a second ago. She walked over to Remus and offered him her hand. Behind her, Sirius grabbed Cassie's hand and kissed it so Remus would mimic him and he did, taking their mother's hand and kissing it.

"It is an honor to meet you, Mrs. Black" Remus said putting down her hand but really, he was scared to death.

"Well, I must admit it is a surprise that you, in fact, turned out to be real" she replied. Remus frowned his eyebrows in confusion.

"Here we go" Cassie muttered rolling her eyes.

"A surprise, ma'am?" Remus asked confused.

"Why, yes, when Lucius informed Abraxas about Cassiopeia being in a relationship with someone, I, of course, assumed it was a mistake" Mrs. Black explained. "There was no way my daughter could be" she continued before making a disgusted face. "… _romantically_ involved with someone" she said with a laugh. Remus turned to look at Cassie who was just looking down at the flower he had given her. He was about to say something when the doorbell rang once again. "Well, I am going to go let my husband know our visitors are here" she said before disappearing upstairs again.

"Visitors?" Sirius and Cassie asked looking at each other at the same time.

"Mr. Malfoy has arrived" Kreacher announced standing at the door of the drawing room with Lucius Malfoy standing behind him.

"Malfoy?" Cassie asked confused.

"Good evening, Cassiopeia, you're looking breathtaking as usual" Lucius said taking off his coat and handing it to Kreacher. "Black… Lupin" he said stopping in front of the third one. "I hope I'm not late. I know how your mother is about punctuality" he explained.

"What exactly are you doing here, Malfoy?" Sirius asked stepping in front of him.

"Why your mother invited me, of course" he said smirking.

"Of course" Cassie said angrily.

"Lucius" Mrs. Black had appeared once more at the door of the room, this time, with Regulus behind her. "How marvelous to see you" she said walking over to the blonde boy who mimicked the greeting Remus had done earlier.

"Pleasure is always mine, Mrs. Black" Lucius said with a smile before he went over and greeted Regulus.

"I think I may vomit" Cassie muttered to Sirius.

"Way ahead of you" he agreed.

"Is your mother like… in love with Malfoy?" Remus asked making the twins laugh.

"Something like that" Sirius said as they listen to Lucius ramble about how honored he was to receive the invitation.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this" Cassie said before walking over to her mother. "Mother, may I have a word? Alone?" she said grabbing her mother and taking her out of the room and into the hallway.

"Cassiopeia, what in Merlin's name are you doing-?"

"What is Lucius Malfoy doing here?"

"Well, I invited him of course" she replied.

"Why?"

"Why wouldn't I? Lucius is a fine respectable, handsome young man and you should be honored that he accepted the invitation to come even when there is a… _half-blood_ in my house" she said with a repulsed face.

"That _half-blood_ " Cassie said mocking her mother's face. "Happens to be my _boyfriend_ -"

"Oh, please, don't be ridiculous now, Cassiopeia" Mrs. Black said letting out a sarcastic laugh. "Your relationship with that boy, whatever it may be, cannot be anything serious and you know that. That boy is not our kind, and no daughter of mine is going to jeopardize her blood purity over some immature, rebellious crush-"

"You think I'm dating Remus just to get back at you or something?"

"Well, why else would you date him? More importantly, why else would _he_ date _you_? Think about it, he has the opportunity of a lifetime to tell people that he is with someone of the Noble House of Black-"

"You know, not as many people as you'd think would be proud to say that" she muttered.

"Lucius on the other hand, understands perfectly what is like to live up to the expectations of the House of Black" she continued ignoring Cassie's comment. "He was raised like you were raised and has become what would seem perfect to add into this family-"

"Sounds like _you_ should date him, mother" Cassie said glaring at her. She was about to walk past her and back into the room but her mother stopped her.

"Do you think this hurts me?"

"Well, wasn't my original goal but I would say that it somewhat upsets you, yes" Cassie replied.

"It doesn't. It hurts you" she informed her.

"How exactly does being with someone that makes me happy hurts me?" she asked with a small smile in her face. "Then again, you wouldn't know about that, would you?" she said turning around and leaving back into the room.

She saw Regulus and Lucius talking to each other on one side of the room so she naturally made her way to the other side where Sirius and Remus were.

"The woman has gone insane" she told Sirius.

"She's always been insane" he replied with a small laugh as he took a sip of his drink.

"Give me that" she said grabbing his glass and drinking it, feeling the hot liquid down her throat. "Father is going to kill you for drinking his good stuff" she mocked him.

"Like he notices at this point" Sirius said shrugging his shoulders and took another sip.

"You alright?" Remus asked her hating seeing her upset.

"Yeah, I don't know how I'm not used to it by now" she replied. "Sorry about that" she said trying to smile.

"Don't worry about it" he assured her kissing her forehead quickly but jumping away from her when they all heard someone clearing his throat.

The five teenagers turned around to see Orion Black standing at the door of the room. Remus felt his heart pounding even harder and he even felt his knees shaking a little bit. If he thought Mrs. Black was intimidating, she was nowhere near Mr. Black. Orion Black was a tall, black-haired, scary mix of his three children, but there was no doubt that he was just like Sirius would look when he was his age. Remus had no idea how two of his best friends managed to grow up in a house like this with their parents. He had heard stories about them throughout their Hogwarts life, but they literally looked like the villains of any fairy tale Remus had read Cassie. Once again, his eyes were the thing that frightened Remus the most. They were as black as the night. He had never seen something like that and his eyes were filled with pride and rage.

"Lucius" he addressed the blonde boy in the room first. Lucius quickly made his way over to Mr. Black and shook his hand.

"Good, evening Mr. Black. Thank you for having me" he said. Remus wasn't sure, but he could swear he even heard the nervousness in his voice. Mr. Black then made his way to the other side of the room where Sirius, Cassie and Remus stood. He looked at his daughter between the two boys and Remus could actually feel her shaking a little bit.

"Cassiopeia" he said in his deep voice. Cassie tensely opened her mouth.

"Uh, r-right" she said turning to Remus. "Remus, this is my father, Orion Black" she said with a nervous smile. "F-father, this is Remus Lupin" she finished.

Remus quickly put out his hand and shook Mr. Black's hand. "It's an honor to meet you, sir" he managed to say without stuttering while Mr. Black eyed him up and down.

"Lupin" Mr. Black said thinking at the name. "Lyall Lupin's son?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes, sir" Remus said nervously.

"He attended Hogwarts around the same time I did. Ravenclaw, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Th-that's right, sir" Remus said.

"Half-blood, aren't you?" he asked. Sirius and Cassie turned to look nervously at each other. Remus let out a nervous laugh.

"I am, s-sir" he replied. Mr. Black simply nodded eyeing the boy.

"Dinner is served, Master" Kreacher said appearing at the door once again.

"Shall we?" Mr. Black said looking at the five teenagers. Regulus and Lucius quickly followed the man and so did Sirius. Remus was about to walk out too but he felt Cassie's hand take his and spinning him around. He noticed she was biting her lip like she always did when she was nervous.

"I'm sorry" she whispered looking down at the ground. Remus knew exactly what she was talking about, but he also knew that none of this was her fault. She was probably having a worse time than he was having. He smiled warmly at her and kissed her forehead.

"Cassie" he said softly. "Look at me, love" he said making the girl slowly turn her eyes to him. "Stop apologizing" he pleaded with a small smile. Cassie tried to smile at him but Remus still saw how uneasy she was. "Hey" he said placing his hand on her cheek. "It's alright" he assured her. "I love you" he said trying to make her smile again and succeeding just a little.

"I love you too" she said with half a smile. "Just… don't forget that, ok?"

"I won't" he said pecking her lips before they quickly made their way out of the room.

* * *

Cassie led Remus to the other side of the hallway where they entered what Remus would think was the biggest dining room he had ever seen. Mr. Black was sitting at the head of the table, Regulus sitting on his left and Sirius on the other side of Regulus.

"So, Mr. Lupin, you can take your seat over there, by Sirius" Mrs. Black told him. "And Lucius will seat next to Cassiopeia" she told him with a fake smile.

Remus felt uncomfortable with the fact that Lucius Malfoy was going to seat next to his girlfriend but knew it was best to just do as he was told. "O-of course" he said making his way over to Sirius' side but Cassie grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Actually mother, I'd rather seat next to Remus" Cassie dared her mother. "You know, since he's my boyfriend and all-"

"Cassiopeia" Mr. Black's deep voice turned to his daughter. " _Seat_ where your mother told you to seat" he said between clenched teeth. Remus saw Cassie's eyes fill with rage as she nodded.

"Yes, sir" she said quietly. Remus gave her hand a small squeeze and smiled a little at her.

"It's alright, really" he assured her before they made their way to each side of the table. Lucius then came over from the bathroom excusing himself and smirking when he saw his seat was next to Cassie's.

"Wow, to why do I owe the honor of being seated next to you?" he whispered taking his seat.

"If you don't want this to be your last meal, Malfoy, I suggest you don't talk to me during it" she threatened.

"That's alright, talking is really unnecessary sometimes" he said when suddenly Cassie felt his hand resting on her knee and trying to make its way up. She quickly grabbed one of her forks and didn't even hesitate to stab his hand out. "Ouch!"

"Oops, sorry" Cassie said with a small smirk. "Dropped my fork" she said putting it on the table once more while Lucius rubbed his hand and Sirius and Remus tried really hard not to laugh.

"Lucius" Mr. Black started. "Your father told me you'll be coming to the Ministry during Christmas break to get you settled before you start, after graduation" he mentioned.

"That's right, sir" Lucius said with a nervous smile.

They both quickly fell into chatting about that as Mrs. Black used her wand to serve food into everyone's plates. Remus felt his fist clenching a little when he saw Cassie's plate. It was barely half full and it had nothing but green stuff. He felt his heart clenching a little when she looked up to smile sadly at him and he noticed she was only playing with it with her fork.

"Cassiopeia, elbows off the table" Mrs. Black said glaring at her daughter. "Honestly, is like you were raised in a Burrow" she muttered and Cassie let out a sight rolling her eyes while getting her elbow off the table.

"And what about you, Remus?" Mr. Black said suddenly turning to the nervous boy. "What are your plans after Hogwarts?"

"Well, I haven't really decided yet but –um, I've always been interested in teaching at Hogwarts" he replied.

"A Professor" Mr. Black stated not impressed and making Remus a little (a lot) more nervous than he already was.

"Well, I must say, even with the amount of half-bloods and mud-"

"Muggle-borns" Cassie quickly interrupted.

" _That_ " she said repulsed. "I believe Hogwarts is still a better school than Durmstrang Institute or Beauxbatons Academy of Magic" she finished.

"Wouldn't you need 'E's in all of your NEWTs to be a Professor?" Regulus asked Remus.

"You got 'E's in all of your OWLs, didn't you Lucius?" Mrs. Black said smiling at the blonde boy before Remus could answer Regulus' question.

"Indeed" Lucius replied. "And intend to get all 'E's in all of my NEWT's as well" he said smirking at Cassie, who rolled her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes, Cassiopeia" her mother warned her. "Wouldn't you say that's impressive?" Mrs. Black said turning to her daughter. "A young man so dedicated and hard-working. All 'E's in the OWLs, a Prefect and now Head Boy-"

"Uh, Remus is also a Prefect" Regulus said trying to help. The other three turned around to face him a little confused but Cassie smiled gratefully at him mouthing 'thank you'.

"Really?" she asked a bit shocked.

"I am, ma'am" he nodded politely.

"I suppose they would let _anyone_ be a Prefect now" Mrs. Black said not really impressed. "Well, not anyone" she said glaring at her two oldest children. "Any other extra-curricular activities, Mr. Lupin? Quidditch, perhaps? You know, Lucius is the Captain of the Slytherin team and Regulus just joined this year" she said smiling at Regulus and Remus could see him blush just a little.

"Um, no, ma'am I'm not very good at Quidditch" Remus said smiling shyly.

"It is an honor, really, to have another Quidditch player in the family. And a Seeker, just like Orion" she said smiling at her husband.

"Sirius has been a Chaser for three years now" Cassie said glaring at her mother.

"And Cassie has been the Seeker in our Quidditch team since third year" Sirius added rolling his eyes. "And, hold on, I don't remember, who won the Quidditch cup last year, my dear sister?"

"Gryffindor did" Cassie proudly replied. "Did it not?"

"That's right! And if I'm not mistaken haven't we won every game against Slytherin this year?" Sirius continued noticing how Lucius' face was getting a little read from anger. Cassie knew they were pushing it a little, since even Regulus was getting upset, but she didn't really care.

"I believe we have" she said smiling.

"Right, even that one when you broke your arm thanks to Snape" Sirius pointed out. "But you don't really care about that, do you, mother?" Sirius said rolling his eyes.

"Snape did _nothing_ to that Bludger" Lucius interfered slamming his fist against the table and making Cassie jump a little.

"It was a _Rogue_ Bludger. It followed Cassie until I stopped it" Remus said glaring at the blonde guy.

"Anyone could've done it" Lucius replied.

"The point is, even with a broken arm, Cassie still caught the Snitch" Sirius smirked proudly.

"The point is" Mrs. Black intervened. "That this is exactly why Quidditch is _not_ an activity for ladies to perform. I do not understand why you _insist_ on being on that team" she said sternly.

"The Head of our house was a Seeker when she attended Hogwarts" Cassie informed her. "And she was brilliant at it!"

"And where did that land her? She's a forty-year-old woman who is single and Head of a house filled with half-bloods and _mud_ -"

"Muggle-borns! The term is muggle-borns, mother" Cassie snapped at her not caring if she got upset. There was no way she was letting her say that awful word in front of Remus. The older woman simply glared at her daughter and looked away.

"So, Remus" Mr. Black said at the head of the table. "What does your father do for a living?" Cassie tried to hide her smile when she saw Sirius mouth the exact words her father has just said. "Did I say something humorous, Cassiopeia?"

"No, sir" Cassie said looking down and still trying not to laugh. Mr. Black turned to look at Remus so he could answer his question.

"My father works at the Ministry of Magic, sir" Remus replied politely. "He's in charge of The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures" he explained.

"That sounds interesting" Regulus said honestly.

"Oh, is not. You have to deal with very dangerous and hideous creatures like… boggarts and poltergeists and…" Mrs. Black said making a disgusted face. " _Werewolves._ "

At the exact same time, both Sirius and Cassie chocked on their drinks. Sirius simply spat his drink out and started coughing, while Cassie swallowed it and coughed.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked her concerned and she nodded lightly.

"What is the matter with you two?" Mrs. Black asked looking at them. "Sirius! Clean yourself up!" she scowled him. "As I was saying, werewolves should not be a part of society. They pose a threat to everyone" she continued.

Cassie felt her fist tightening more and more, she was sure she was bending her fork and she would soon break it in half.

"Well, obviously" Mr. Black added. "They're not proper people. They could kill people" he elaborated. "They're soulless, evil beings, deserving nothing but death-"

Mr. Black was interrupted by his glass shattering and exploding in the middle of the table. Remus and Sirius turned to look at Cassie who was staring at the spot with, what they would say, the scariest look they had ever seen on the girl.

"What in Merlin's name-?" Mrs. Black started. "KREACHER!" she yelled cleaning the mess with her wand and walking towards the kitchen. Cassie locked eyes with Remus and felt her breathing getting heavy. She quickly pushed back her chair and got up.

"Can I be excused?" she said quickly walking towards the entrance of the dining room.

"Cassiopeia-" Mrs. Black said walking back into the room.

"Sorry, _may_ I be excused?" she yelled once she was outside of the dining room and she ran into the bathroom.

Cassie closed the door behind her and tried to recover her breath to a steady pace. She removed the gloves from her hands not caring what her mother would say. She jumped a little surprised when she heard a knock on the door.

"Cassie" she heard Sirius' voice on the other side of the door. "Let me in!"

Cassie quickly opened the door and glared at her brother. "What are you doing here? You can't leave Remus alone with _them_ " she said before Sirius pushed the door and walked inside.

"Relax, he's talking to Regulus. Father is talking to Malfoy and mother is in the kitchen yelling at Kreacher" he explained.

"I can't do this" Cassie said feeling her eyes starting to water. "I can't do this anymore, Siri" she said with her voice breaking. "They're being horrible-"

"Cassie, they don't know Moony is a werewolf-"

"It doesn't matter! Do you think that would stop them from saying that? They know he's a half-blood and they still comment on that! Did you see father's face when he knew who Remus' father was? Is one thing when they do it to us, Sirius but I cannot stand them talking like that to Remus!"

"I know" Sirius said sympathetically hugging his sister. "Look, I hate it too but we just have to get through tonight, alright? And then this will be like it never happened" he assured her.

"I don't think I can take it anymore" Cassie said looking down. Sirius saw the desperation in her eyes. He smiled a little at his sister.

"Then let's leave" he said shrugging his shoulders.

Cassie turned to look wide-eyed at her twin. "W-what?"

"Let's leave" he repeated. "I'm sick of it too" he indicated.

"Siri-"

"Look, let's just get through tonight and we figure out this in the morning, alright?"

"But what if Remus hates us after tonight?"

"He won't" Sirius assured her. "He's our friend and he knows we're not like that" he tried to convince her. "And he loves you. Cassie, he knows you better than anyone, except me of course" he said managing to get a tiny laugh from her. "And he knows you are _nothing_ like our parents" he said kissing her head. "Now, come on, we don't want to leave him out there too long" he said grabbing her hand and leading her out of the bathroom.

Cassie nodded and followed his brother back into the dining room feeling a little relieved when she saw Remus was just talking to Regulus and the mood wasn't as tense as before. That is, until her mother came back inside.

"Cassiopeia!" she said grabbing her daughter's wrist. "You look like a dreadful mess!"

"Mother, I-"

"Go fix yourself" she said pushing her towards the hallway. "Now!"

Cassie sighed sadly, looking apologetically at Remus before she walked out of the room. She made her way upstairs to her room and tried to fix herself as quickly as possible. She was fixing her hair when she heard a knock on the door. She frowned confused. Nobody really ever knocked on the door, except for Kreacher. She made her way towards it and opened it surprise to find Remus on the other side.

"Remmy? What are you-?"

"Shh" Remus said placing his finger on her lips before he made his way inside her bedroom. "Your parents think I'm in the bathroom" he told her after he closed the door.

"How did you even know this was my bedroom?"

"Regulus told me" he said. "Don't tell Padfoot" he said with a small laugh.

"What are you doing here?" she said trying to fix her hair and her dress at the same time.

"Stop" he said walking towards her. She turned to look confused at him. "Stop, love. You look beautiful" he said kissing her cheek and making a slight smile appear on her face. Cassie had no idea how he could turn her entire mood upside down in so little time. "I know this is hard on you, love, but I'm here" he said wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. "And I'm not going anywhere, ok?" He felt her nod against him while she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You're strong, Cass. You're stronger than them and braver. You're _better_ than them" he whispered in her ear before he placed a sweet kiss on her forehead and then another one on her lips. He pulled back to see a few tears escaping her eyes and he quickly wiped them away with his thumbs.

"I love you" she said with a weary smile.

"I love you too" he assured her kissing her once more.

"Don't forget it, alright?" she said letting him embrace her once more.

"Never" he said kissing her head one last time before he had to go back to the dining room.

* * *

After a few more minutes, Cassie came back down looking acceptable according to her mother. She took her seat back between her mother and Lucius but focused only on the boy in front of her. Remus was smiling warmly at her from the other side of the table. Soon enough, it was time for dessert and tea.

"Seat up straight, Cassiopeia" Mrs. Black told her daughter who was sinking in her seat.

Remus was trying really hard to ignore the comments Mrs. Black kept on throwing her daughter. He really was trying to listen to Regulus' story about what happened… fine, he wasn't listening.

"That is quite enough" he heard her say taking away Cassie's dessert plate, which only consisted of fruit. "Cassiopeia, I almost forgot" she said casually. "We are going to buy you a new dress tomorrow morning along with Druella, Bellatrix and Narcissa" she informed her.

"Ugh! Do I have to?"

"Don't groan, young lady" she said glaring at her daughter. "And yes, you have to" she said. "Last time, their dresses were marvelous and you just chose to alter yours, making you look just horrible next to them" she remarked. Remus felt his fist clenching but tried his best to bite his tongue.

"Well then, maybe I can borrow one of their dresses since they are so wonderful" Cassie said sarcastically.

"Oh, please, like they will fit you" Mrs. Black said with a casual laugh before taking a sip of her tea. Cassie let it go. She was used to these comments from her mother. But Remus broke down.

"How dare you?" he snapped at the lady next to his girlfriend. The entire table looked stupefied at the young wizard. Even Malfoy.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Black said raising an eyebrow at him. Remus would _never_ let Cassie know this, but she had the exact same expression as her mother when she was mad.

"I said, how dare you say those things to Cassie? All of it?"

"Remus-" Cassie started trying to avoid what she knew was inevitable at this point.

"What did you just say, young man?" Mr. Black said getting up from his seat.

"I am sorry, sir. I don't mind you insulting me or my blood status. I didn't even mind the fact that your wife spent the entire evening trying to get your daughter to become Lucius Malfoy's girlfriend. However, I will not just stand here and listen to you both saying those awful things about my girlfriend. No, about _your daughter_. Your daughter is the most amazing person that I have ever met in my entire life. Not only is she a brilliant witch and an amazing Quidditch player, but she is the most beautiful girl in the entire world. Inside and out; she's kind and smart and funny and sweet and her heart is so big! And you and your wife only seem to care about the fact that she made the wrong choice by being with me! And trust me, sir, I don't know why she chose me either. I don't deserve her, but I am honored and the luckiest man alive to have _her_ by my side and I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy because I am madly in love with her! And you two should feel proud to have her as a daughter instead of her having to feel proud for being a Black!"

Everyone stood there shocked at Remus' actions. _No one_ had ever talked to Mr. Black like that. _Ever_. The tall man made his way over to the boy, who was nervously shaking and gave him a look he hadn't even given any of his children in all of their lives.

"Get out of my house" Mr. Black said throwing daggers at the werewolf. "NOW!"

Remus didn't even have time to say anything else before Mr. Black grabbed his arm and forcefully dragged him along the hallway, opened the door and pushed him out. Remus felt his heart sinking. He didn't even get to say goodbye to Cassie and now he was more worried than ever. He knew her parents were not going to go easy on her or Sirius. He really wanted to come back and get her out of there but he knew he couldn't. He sighted sadly and started walking away from the door when he heard someone calling him.

"Remmy!" he turned around to see Cassie running behind him. "Remus, wait!"

"Cassie, what are you doing?" he asked grabbing the girl in his arms as she collapsed when she reached him. "Love, are you alright?"

Cassie tried to catch her breath again and looked up at Remus trying her best to smile. "Yeah" she breathed out.

"Cassie, your parents will freak-"

"Sirius is covering for me" she informed him.

"Cassie, I am so sorry. I tried to do my best, I honestly could but I couldn't stand the way she was talking about you-"

"Don't be silly… I'm not mad… I just… I needed… to tell you" she said between breaths.

"What?" Remus asked confused.

" _I'm_ sorry" she said catching her breath. "I am so sorry for my parents" she said nervously. "Please don't hate me, Remmy" she said finally managing to get her breath back. "I know my parents are horrible people a-and I am so sorry they invited Malfoy today, I didn't know, I swear! I love _you_! And just you! And I'm sorry about everything they said about you and your father and I-"

Cassie was interrupted when Remus grabbed her face and gently pulled her towards him crashing his lips against hers. Cassie was a little surprised at first but smiled widely returning the kiss and pulling him closer.

"Did I ever tell you, you look adorable when you ramble?" he said smiling at her once they pulled apart. He saw her cheeks turning a bit red and smile back at him.

"You don't hate me?"

"I could never hate you, love" he assured her giving her another peck on the lips. Cassie wrapped her arms around him again and buried herself on his chest.

"Sirius and I are leaving" she mumbled. Remus wasn't sure if he had heard her right. He pulled away a little and lifted her head up.

"What did you say?"

Cassie bit her lip nervously. "Sirius and I are leaving" she repeated. "We can't stay here anymore. I don't know when yet but… we don't want to be here" she said sadly.

"Cassie" Remus said carefully. "You know I support you no matter what, but I don't want you guys doing something that it's going to get worse for both of you later on" he said worriedly.

"What can be worse than this, Remmy? This house is horrible! You saw it! That's how it is _every_ day" she said with her eyes welling up a little.

"Cassie!" they both heard Sirius yell back from the house. Cassie looked down sadly wiping away the remaining tears.

"I have to go" she said turning up back to Remus. "I love you and I'll see you soon" she said quickly giving him a peck on the lips before turning around and running back to her house.

"I love you too" Remus mumbled as he stood there looking back at his girlfriend climbing up a window, unable to erase the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

* * *

Cassie made her way up the window into the drawing room. She was used to this, just not doing it in heels. There were a few times where Sirius and her would 'run away' but always ended up coming back. She made her way inside to reveal Sirius waiting for her.

"Where's father?"

"In his office" he said rolling his eyes.

"And mother?" she said grabbing the drink from Sirius' hand and started drinking it. They both knew this night was far from over.

"Actually, mother-"

"Cassiopeia" the twins turned around to look at their mother, who looked fuming and had Regulus hot on her tracks. Before any of them could say anything she walked over to her daughter and connected her hand with Cassie's cheek causing her to drop the glass in her hand.

"Mother!" Sirius said furious stepping in front of Cassie who was holding her cheek with her hand, feeling the sting in her entire body.

"How dare you? That is the _last_ time you embarrass me in front of Lucius-"

"What?" Cassie said letting out an angry laugh and feeling her voice rising with each word. "You're embarrassed? _I_ embarrassed _you_ in front of _Lucius_?"

"Well obviously his parents are going to-"

"Who the bloody cares about his parents? Who the bloody cares about Lucius Malfoy? _YOU_ embarrassed _me_ in front of my boyfr-"

"Don't you DARE say that filthy half-blood is your boyfriend!"

"That is ENOUGH" the four members of the family turned around at the deep, dark, scary voice of Mr. Black who was standing at the entrance. "Cassiopeia" he said in the same deep tone. "My office. Now" he demanded. Cassie could feel her knees shaking. She started to make her way slowly towards her father and Sirius walked with her. "Just Cassiopeia" he said glaring at his oldest son. Sirius didn't want to let her go in by herself, but there was nothing he could do at this point.

Cassie felt her heart sinking. She could count on one hand the number of times she had been at her father's office. And they were _never_ good times. The first time, was when Sirius and her broke the wand that had belonged to his grandfather. The second time was when they had ruined one of their mother's most expensive dresses, the third time was when they embarrassed him at one of the famous Malfoy's dinners by misbehaving according to their parents. And the fourth time, the last time she had been in there was when Cassie and Sirius were sorted into Gryffindor.

"Close the door" he said once she was inside. Cassie did as she was told and stood in the middle of the room waiting for her father to continue. "I am only going to say this once, so you better listen very carefully to me" he warned her. Cassie nodded nervously. "I may not be able to pull you and your brother out of that _awful_ house where you share dorms with half-bloods and _mudbloods_ " he said disgustedly. Cassie wrinkled her face at the word. She hated that word. " _Don't_ make that face" her father warned her. "That is what they should be called" he said getting up from his chair and walking around his desk. "Filthy disgrace, thinking they're just as good as us" he mumbled. "But I digress" he said looking straightly into his daughter's eyes. "You are strictly _forbidden_ to ever see that boy again" he said in a steady tone.

"What? No! B-but father-"

"Did I say you could speak?" Mr. Black snapped at her. Cassie shook her head looking down trying her best to keep her tears from falling.

"S-sorry, sir" she muttered.

"You come from a very prestigious family, Cassiopeia" he informed her. "And is as if you do not appreciate that" he said walking in circles around his daughter. "The Noble and most Ancient House of Black" he said proudly. "Do you understand what that means?" he continued without letting her answer. "We have a very elevated status in the Wizarding World that we have to keep up" he said. "We have entirely magical ancestry" he continued. "You could even say we're considered royalty of the Wizarding World" he said proudly and Cassie fought the urge to roll her eyes. "It's even in our family crest" he said pointing at the crest right above the fireplace in his office. He got closer to the trembling girl. "What does that say?" he asked pointing at it.

" _Toujours Pur_ " Cassie mumbled.

"What?" he asked louder.

" _Toujours Pur_ , sir" she said a little louder.

"And what does that mean?"

"It means 'Always Pure'" she answered.

"Exactly" he said walking back around in circles. "Pure. So, that means… no mudbloods, no squibs… and of course, no half-bloods" he said disgustedly. "This family will continue to be a pureblood family" he informed her. "I do _not_ want you getting involved with that low-life, worthless, filthy half-blood. And if I find out that you disobeyed me, and I _would_ find out" he cleared getting closer to Cassie. "There will be _dreadful_ consequences for both of you" he threatened. Cassie saw him grabbing the tulip Remus had brought for her from his desk and he broke it in half before he tossed it away. "Have I made myself clear?"

Cassie tried her best to stop shaking. "Y-yes, sir" she said looking down.

"Good" Mr. Black said standing up straight and turning his back to her once more, returning to his chair. "Now go to your room. We have the Malfoy's dinner tomorrow night. I expect you and your brother to be on your best behavior" he said going back to his work as if nothing had happened throughout the entire night. "You are dismissed" he said shaking her off with his hand. Cassie turned around and was about to walk out of her father's office when she felt a single tear falling from her left cheek. "We do _not_ cry, Cassiopeia. We are _not_ weak" her father said before she quickly wiped the tear away and ran out of his office.

Cassie ran as fast as she could and locked herself in her room. She quickly got out of the hideous dress she was wearing and the unbearable shoes she had on. She looked at herself in the mirror. She hated this. She was tired. She couldn't do it anymore and there was definitely no way she could stay away from Remus. She grabbed one of her shoes and threw it at the big mirror that was in front of her, causing it to shatter all over the floor. She felt her breathing getting heavy. She needed to get out of here. She needed _him._ She quickly made her way to her trunk and got out Remus' sweatshirt. She put it on, along with some pajama pants and cleaned the makeup off her face before she walked out of the room and went inside the one next to it.

"Cassie" Sirius said worried getting up from his bed. "What happened? Are you alright?" he asked running towards his sister and embracing her in his arms. He knew what going into his father's office meant. But they had _never_ gone separately. "What did he do?" he asked examining her face to see if there were any more injuries but she only had a bruise forming from her mother's slap. _That bloody ring_. He thought.

Cassie stood there in her brother's arms and the tears that were threatening to spill finally did. This was the only place she could break down. The only one she could break down with. So, she did. Sirius managed to balance himself to catch Cassie so she wouldn't fall.

"Hey, it's ok" he whispered picking her up. He sat on his bed and sat her on his lap while he kissed her head and whispered sweet nothings to her. "It'll be alright, Cass. I promise" he said closing his eyes, not really knowing if he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince her. "I've got you."

* * *

"Would you stop worrying?" James told Remus for about the tenth time in the last hour.

Two days had gone by since the disastrous dinner at the Black House. Remus had gone directly to James' house and told him and Peter everything that had went down. Both Peter and James had tried to reassure him that everything was going to be fine but deep down he had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong. He hadn't heard anything from Cassie or Sirius for that matter, and he couldn't help but worry. Peter had left that morning, leaving James to deal with his concerned friend. He had done everything he could think of to keep Remus' mind occupied but he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little concerned too. The two of them were currently playing Wizard Chess in James' living room in the middle of the night since none of them could really sleep.

"It's been two days, Prongs" Remus said nervously. "Something must be wrong! What if her parents convinced her to stay away from me?"

"Alright, now you're being delusional" James said laughing. "Are we talking about the same Cassiopeia Black?"

"You weren't there!"

"I didn't have to be there to know that Cassie is madly in love with you and there is no way that she would listen to her parents when it comes to you. You and I both know that Padfoot and Cassie are nothing like Mr. and Mrs. Black" James assured her.

"But what if something's wrong?"

"Moony, what could possibly be wrong without us knowing?"

"I don't know" he admitted. "I just have a bad feeling" he said cracking his knuckles.

"Are they really that scary?" James asked referring to the Blacks.

"Scarier, mate" Remus said.

"Well, nevertheless, mate. You have to stop worrying before you have a nervous breakdown-"

James' sentence was interrupted by a loud ruckus coming from the kitchen. The two friends turned to look confused at each other before they heard a loud piercing scream. They immediately got up and ran over to the place where all the noise was coming from. Remus feared he knew that scream too well. When they reached the kitchen, they both stopped at the entrance feeling their entire body freeze in fear.

"Bloody hell" James muttered not knowing what else to do.

"Cassie?!" Remus yelled feeling like he was about to cry. Both of them paralyzed in the same spot, unable to take their eyes off the scene in front of them.

There, on James' kitchen floor were the Black twins. Cassie was crying hysterically and yelling uncontrollably holding on for dear life to an unconscious Sirius Black.

* * *

 **A/N: I am SO sorry for leaving another (and I think even worse) cliffhanger but I promise it'll all make sense in the next chapter! so that's it for now! I swear I'll try to post the next chapter during the week! as always, suggestions are very welcome... and so are reviews! :D hahaha thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you liked it! let me know what you think :)**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	13. I'm A Mess

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **Hello everyone! I am so sorry that it took me forever to post! it has been a couple of crazy weeks buuut here it is :D like always, first off I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys are THE BEST! and, obviously a special thanks to my lovely reviewers! :D an anonymous reviewer, I am glad you loved it :D, rachelle8, thank you so much for your awesome review AAAND for your ideas on how the story should end! I am still debating on whether how it should end but... you never know! I might borrow some of your suggestions ;), thank you Christine! I'm really glad you like my story :) and CSIKayl thank you so much for your review! I am really glad you like it :Dand now, ladies and gentlemen, I leave you with chapter 13 enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _Oh I'm a mess right now  
Inside out  
Searching for a sweet surrender  
But this is not the end  
I can't work it out  
How going through the motions  
Going through us  
And oh I've known it for the longest time  
And all of my hopes  
All of my own words  
Are all over written on the signs  
But you're on my road  
Walking me home  
See the flames inside my eyes  
It burns so bright  
I wanna' feel your love  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"Cassie?!" Remus yelled feeling like he was about to cry. Both of them paralyzed in the same spot, unable to take their eyes of the scene in front of them.

There, on James' kitchen floor were the Black twins. Cassie was crying hysterically and yelling uncontrollably holding on for dear life to an unconscious Sirius Black.

Remus and James ran over to their friends as fast as they could. James paled when he noticed how many bruises and cuts covered the twins' bodies. They both tried to get the sister's attention but she was screaming incoherently, not letting go of her brother.

"Cassie!" Remus said kneeling down next to her.

"Padfoot!" James shook his friend just a little to try and wake him up. He was scared to death. "MUM! DAD!"

"S-Siri! Sirius, w-wake up! P-please!" Cassie was completely oblivious to her two friends around her. Her eyes were glued to her brother as she tried desperately to get him up too. "SIRIUS!"

"Cassie, love" Remus tried to get her to look at him as calmly as he could.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" she muttered under her breath. James and Remus turned to look at each other even more worried. "This is all my fault!"

"Cassie, look at me" Remus felt his heart sinking when his girlfriend turned to him but her look was lost. The brightness of her eyes was gone. The girl he was in love with was not there. He saw the big cut she had on her forehead right above her left eye. "Cassie, you're bleeding" he said wrapping his arms around her waist and carrying her away from Sirius.

"NO! No, no, SIRIUS! SIRI!" Cassie fought in Remus' arms to try to get back to her brother but Remus held her tight. "Let me go! SIRIUS!"

"Cassie, I need to fix you first-"

"James, what in Merlin's name is going on?" Mrs. Potter said walking into the kitchen with her husband behind her. "Oh dear" she hurried her way over to the fighting girl in Remus' arms while Mr. Potter went over to Sirius.

"James! What happened?" he asked his son.

"I d-don't know" James said honestly. "We were playing chess and we heard noise in the kitchen and they were here like this!" he explained. "Padfoot's not waking up, dad" he said with his voice breaking just a little.

"Cassie" Mrs. Potter said in a sweet calmed tone. "Honey, look at me" she said about to place her hand on the girl's cheek but Cassie started screaming again and flinched away from her burying herself in Remus' arms. "Cassie is alright, I am not going to hurt you" Mrs. Potter said feeling her heart clench.

"S-Sirius" was everything she managed to say. "P-please, help S-Sirius" she begged with her eyes shiny from the tears that Remus noticed she was trying really hard not to let out and she gripped his arm tighter with her hands as if she was afraid he would let go.

"We will help him, honey, but I also need to look at your wounds. You're bleeding an awful lot" Mrs. Potter said trying not to upset the girl even more.

"We have to take them to St. Mungo's-" Mr. Potter started.

"NO!" Cassie said frightened gripping onto Remus' arms and tightening them around her. "No, no, no, NO! Y-you can't- you can't do that! He'll find us and he c-can't find us!" she said turning to them with her big glossy eyes. "I'm sorry! I am so sorry" she went back to mumble to herself hiding her face in her hands.

"I think she's in shock" Mrs. Potter told her husband.

"James, go get Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, they'll help us" Mr. Potter said turning to his son and giving him Floo Powder.

"What's wrong with them, dad?" James asked trying not to sound as scared as he really was.

"I don't know son, but they will help" Mr. Potter told him. "Now, go!"

James did as he was told walking over to the fireplace. Mr. Potter then turned to Cassie who was still in Remus' arms fighting to go to her brother. "Cassiopeia-"

"DON'T call me that! Please!" she said covering her ears with her hands.

"She… doesn't like being called that, Mr. Potter" Remus told Mr. Potter who softened his look.

"Cassie, I need you to look at me" he said trying to make the girl stop panicking but with no luck. "Cassie, what happened to you and Sirius?"

"It was m-my fault" she said starting to cry again. "It was all my fault!"

"What was your fault, sweetheart?" Mrs. Potter asked.

The Potters never really got an answer because, in less than five minutes, James was back with Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom behind him.

"Potter, what is going on?" Mr. Longbottom said still a little sleepy. He was fully awake, however when he saw the scene in front of them. "Bloody hell!"

"Oh dear, what happened?" Augusta Longbottom said making her way to Mrs. Potter.

"We still don't know" Mrs. Potter said worriedly. "Cassie, I'm going to clean you up now-"

"N-no! I c-can't leave S-Sirius! Please, Mrs. P-Potter-"

"Sirius will be fine, Cassie" Mr. Potter said softly to the girl. "I will take care of him" he assured her.

"You p-promise?" the girl said still trembling a little.

"I give you my word" Mr. Potter told him. Cassie nodded softly and Mrs. Potter was able to pick her up from her spot but she quickly ran over to Sirius kissing him on the forehead.

"I'm sorry" she said making everyone's heart in the room to break. "I love you!" she whispered before Mrs. Potter came over and helped her up.

"Let's get you cleaned up, dear" she said kindly as Mrs. Longbottom helped her on the other side leading the girl to the nearest bathroom.

"Mrs. Potter" Remus said at the door of the bathroom, knowing exactly what she was going to say.

"I know you want to be with her right now, Remus. But let me clean her up first, alright?" she said with a kind smile.

"W-will she be alright?" Remus asked feeling his eyes fill with tears. Mrs. Potter gently placed a hand on the boy's cheek.

"I really hope so, darling" she told him. Remus only nodded before the woman disappeared inside.

Mrs. Potter gasped scared when she saw the scene inside. Cassie was standing in front of them in nothing but her underwear. Her entire body was covered in bruises, cuts, and blood. She had no idea how the girl was able to be standing up. She walked over to the shaking girl and was going to place her hand on her cheek like she did Remus, but Cassie shut her eyes and flinched away from her touch. Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Longbottom felt their heart aching. She was scared to death. Mrs. Potter sat her gently on the tub. The girl pressed her knees against her chest and Cassie just kept on crying silently while muttering Sirius' name from time to time.

"This one's a nasty cut" Mrs. Longbottom pointed out as she tried to clean Cassie's right arm.

Cassie lifted her head slowly and looked at the cut she was talking about. "S-she didn't w-want us to for-get what we a-are" she muttered silently. Both witches frowned their eyebrows in confusion looking at each other before Mrs. Potter turned to the small girl.

"What do you mean, Cassie?"

Augusta Longbottom scrubbed a little harder only to feel sick to her stomach. "Oh my" she said getting Mrs. Potter's attention. Mrs. Potter tried as much as she could to contain herself when she read the words ' _Blood Traitor_ ' scarred on her skin. The two ladies decided it was best if they just continued to work in silence.

After about an hour and a half, Cassie was as clean as she could be. The scars and the bruises were still visible. She had a bandage against her forehead above her left eye. Her arms were also covered in bandages as was her stomach. Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom had informed her that they had cleaned up Sirius and he should be fine but he needed to rest. Mr. Longbottom didn't want to alarm the girl by telling her that he wasn't sure _when_ he was going to wake up. Mrs. Potter had brought her some clothes belonging to James and Remus since it was the only ones that could somehow fit her. Cassie put on James' pajama pants and wrapped herself with Remus' sweater feeling safe in it. She was sitting at the guest room's bed (where Remus was staying) and Mrs. Potter was softly brushing her damped black hair. After what she had revealed in the bathroom, the girl had gone dead silent; only nodding or shaking her head when asked a question.

"Is this alright, dear? Or am brushing to rough?" Mrs. Potter asked kindly. Cassie simply shook her head letting her know that it wasn't too hard. Mrs. Potter kept on running through her long black hair as she untangled the knots. "You know, Cassie, one of the great unsung luxuries in this world is having someone brush your hair" she told her. "My mother used to do it for me" she continued. "I love James more than anything in this world, but I always dreamt of having a daughter so I could brush it for her" she simply stated. Cassie felt a single tear rolling down her cheek. This was clearly the first time anyone had done this for her. Even if it was something as little as brushing her hair, she felt this warmth in her heart; one that she had _never_ felt when she was at her house. She had never felt that _mother-daughter_ connection that all of her friends talked about; not until now. "There, all done" she said finishing up. She stood up and sat on the other side of Cassie so that she was facing her now. She lifted the girl's chin gently with her hand and saw a few tears still remaining in her eyes. "Just as pretty as before" she said with a warm smile. Cassie tried her best to smile back at her but kept on failing.

"I'm s-sorry, Mrs. P-Potter, I d-didn't know where else to g-go" she said looking down.

"Cassie, look at me" Mrs. Potter said in a motherly tone. "You and your brother are _always_ welcome here. As long as you want" she said kissing the girl's forehead. "It'll be alright, sweetheart" Mrs. Potter said placing Cassie's hair behind her ear. Cassie let a few tears fall down silently and she let herself being hugged by Mrs. Potter. "You should get some rest" she said standing up from the bed. She was almost at the door when she heard her fragile voice again.

"M-Mrs. Potter?" she turned around to look at her. "W-would you l-let me know when Siri wakes up?"

Mrs. Potter smiled sweetly. "Of course, dear" she said walking out the door.

Cassie stood up from the bed and made her way towards the window. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep tonight. She brought her knees to her chest wrapping her arms around them and resting her head looking out at James' backyard. She suddenly heard a knock on the door. She wanted to tell the person to come in, but she didn't find the strength to talk. It didn't really matter because a few seconds later, the door opened revealing her boyfriend with two mugs in his hands.

"Hi" he said softly walking over to the nightstand and placing the two mugs down. "I made you hot chocolate" he said smiling sweetly at her. "M-Mrs. Potter said you'd be tired so I'll let you-" Before Remus could finish Cassie stood up and ran over to him throwing herself into his arms. Remus quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and she finally broke down. Cassie's knees gave up and Remus tried to support her as he felt her start crying against his shoulder. "Hey, it's ok, love" he whispered kissing her head. "I'm right here" he said rubbing her back.

After what felt like forever Remus was able to calm her down. She was still crying but she had stopped screaming. He was now sitting on the floor where Cassie had been with her on his lap, both of them drinking the hot chocolate he had made in comfortable silence. Remus knew she wasn't going to talk right now. She just needed him to be there for her so he was. Cassie had her head resting on Remus' shoulder fighting to stay awake.

"Why don't you try to sleep, love?" Remus whispered kissing her head.

"I don't want to" she said quietly as her eyes started closing. Remus let out a small chuckle.

"Baby, you're exhausted" he said taking the mug away from her and placing it on the ground along with his.

"Will you stay with me?" she asked in a small voice. Remus hadn't even thought of leaving her side if it wasn't because Mrs. Potter told him to.

"Of course, love" he said wrapping his arms around her.

"W-would you sing to me?" she asked almost asleep. Remus smiled at the sleepy girl in his arms.

"What would you like me to sing?"

"Your favorite song" she whispered snuggling closer against him. Remus kissed her forehead before he started.

 _Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high  
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby  
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue  
And the dreams that you dare to dream,  
Really do come true  
Someday I'll wish upon a star  
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me_

Remus smiled when he saw the corners of Cassie's lips turning up. He rested his head against hers. Both of them completely oblivious to the door opening with James standing there, watching them with a small smile on his face.

 _Where troubles melt like lemon drops  
Away above the chimney tops  
That's where you'll find me  
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly  
Birds fly over the rainbow  
Why then, oh why can't I?  
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow  
Why, oh why can't I?_

"I love you" he whispered kissing her forehead once more. He felt her breathing slow down. She was asleep. Remus carefully picked her up and placed her down on the bed. He then turned to see James still standing at the door with a smirk on his face.

"Well, you have a beautiful voice, Moony" he told him. Remus rolled his eyes letting out a laugh.

"Shut up" he said sitting down on the edge of the bed. "How's Sirius?"

James sighted sadly and sat on the floor while he looked at Cassie. "Dad says he should be alright" he told him. "How's Cassie?"

"She's still not talking much" Remus said sadly. "Your mum said it was… r-really bad" he told him.

"Remus" James said all of the sudden. "Dad said they were both hit with the Cruciatus Curse" James said a little scared. Remus felt sick to his stomach. He turned to look at his sleeping girlfriend once again. He had no idea how someone, _anyone_ could even think of hurting Cassie, _his Cassie_ , that way. "D-do you think Mr. and Mrs. Black could-?"

"I don't know, James" Remus said not wanting to believe it. He knew the parents were strict with their children, horrible even. But this? Using an _unforgivable course_ on their own kids? He gently stroked Cassie's hair placing it out of her face and admired how peaceful she looked.

"They'll be alright, mate" James said noticing the scared look on Remus.

"How are you so sure?" Remus said looking back at him.

"Because it's Sirius and Cassie" James said as if it were obvious. "They have to" he said sadly looking at his friend.

"Would your parents mind if I stay here? I don't want to leave her alone" Remus asked him.

"Nah, don't worry about it, mate" James said. "Mum said it was going to be impossible to drag you away from her anyways" he said laughing. "You stay with her and I'll stay with Padfoot" he told him.

"Let me know when he wakes up" Remus told him.

"Sure thing, mate" James said getting up. "Night, Moony."

"Night, Prongs."

Remus got into bed and brought Cassie closer to him and heard her mumble in her sleep. "R-Remy?"

"I'm here, love" he whispered kissing her forehead. Cassie nuzzled into Remus as he wrapped his arms around her and they both surrendered to sleep.

* * *

Remus woke up about an hour later when he felt Cassie stirring next to him. "Cassie?" he whispered. Cassie kept on turning and tossing while mumbling in her sleep. "Cassie, love?" Remus tried again shaking her but the girl started flinging violently and yelling. "Cassie!"

"AH!" Cassie sat up sweating cold and screaming next to Remus.

"Cassie, love, it's alright" Remus said softly trying to calm her down but Cassie flinched away from him. "Cassie, it's me" he said placing her head between his hands and making her look at him. "It's me, love. I'm here" he said looking at the tears in her eyes. Cassie immediately wrapped her arms around Remus.

"R-Remmy" she whispered trying to even her breathing.

"I'm here, love" he said rubbing his hand up and down her back and kissing her head. "It was just a nightmare" he soothed her.

"I'm s-sorry" she said looking down.

"No, don't apologize, love" he said bringing her closer to him. "It's alright" he said as he continued to kiss her forehead.

"Is S-Sirius up y-yet?"

Remus sighed sadly. "Not yet, love" he told her.

"Remmy?"

"Yes, love?"

"Is he going to wake up?" she whispered with her voice breaking a little.

Remus didn't know what to tell her. He had heard Mr. Longbottom saying that Sirius' injuries were very deep and that Madame Pomfrey was coming in the morning to finish the work. He didn't even know exactly what had happened to them to be able to know if he was going to be ok, but he had to believe it.

"Look at me, love" he said softly and Cassie did. "I don't know what happened to you two and you don't have to tell me until you're ready, but I am certain that you _and_ Sirius are strong enough to get through this and he is going to be fine and so are you" he said wiping away the tears that were falling down her cheeks. "I promise you I will never ever let anything bad happen to you" he said in a serious tone.

Cassie didn't answer. Instead, she leaned up to Remus' lips and wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him as close to her as she could. She needed _him_. She stopped thinking about everything going on around her and just focused on the amazing boy she was lying next to. Remus wasn't really expecting that but he wasn't complaining either. He quickly placed his hands on her hips bringing her closer. Remus laid her on her back gently, never breaking the kiss. Cassie slid her hands slowly down his chest, causing him to moan softly. He grinned against her lips kissing her hard; he let his lips travel along her jaw line, wrapping his hands around her hips and he started making his way down her neck. He smirked as she moaned above him; he made his way back to her lips before kissing her hungrily, demanding entrance to her mouth, which she gladly gave. He started kissing down her neck again, placing his hand under her sweatshirt, well, his sweatshirt, and lifting it up making Cassie jump in surprise and snapping his hand away. Remus pulled away immediately.

"I'm sorry!" he said blushing a little and seeing the red cheeks on Cassie too. "I'm sorry, love I didn't mean to-"

"N-no" Cassie said tensely. "Is not that" she said looking away. "Is just… I um-" she said nervously placing her hair behind her ear. "I've got a l-lot of… scars" she said whispering the last word. "They're not pretty" she said looking down.

"Cassie" Remus said placing his hand gently on her cheek and making her look up at him. "You're beautiful" he whispered kissing her cheek and making her smile just a little. "You are the single most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my entire life" he said kissing her other cheek. "And guess what?" he said looking straightly at her. "I'm also covered in scars" he whispered.

"That's not exactly a good thing" she said trying not to smile.

"I know" Remus told her. "But, don't you think I'm handsome even with my scars?" he said pouting at her. Cassie did something she hadn't done in over three days. She laughed.

"I do, actually" she told him.

"See? And I think you're beautiful. Even with your scars. Because they're a part of you and nothing that is a part of you could ever be anything less than beautiful" he said kissing her on the lips again and tangling his fingers in her hair. Cassie let herself go once more, needing a break from everything. She even ignored the pain she felt whenever one of her cuts or bruises bothered her. Soon enough they were back in the position they had been not long ago; until…

"CASSIE!"

Cassie pushed Remus off of her, ignoring the flustered look on her boyfriend's face when she heard that voice. She'd know that voice anywhere; Sirius. She quickly got off the bed and ran as fast as she could to James' bedroom with Remus close behind her. Cassie could hear Sirius yelling all the way there and she opened James' door without even knocking. She saw her brother fighting James so he could get up from the bed while James tried to pull him back.

"Sirius, your leg is broken!" James said trying to calm his friend down.

"CASSIE! Prongs, I have to get her! They have her! They're gonna hurt her!" he kept on yelling at James who was trying to assure him that Cassie was perfectly fine in the room down the hall. "GET OFF! CASSIE!"

The scene was pretty much the other way around from the way it had been when the Black twins entered James' kitchen. Sirius stood from the bed but fell when he felt a sharp pain on his broken leg and he collapsed on the floor. James was trying to help him up but Cassie ran over to them and pushed James off Sirius, kneeling in front of her twin.

"Sirius!"

"Cassie!" Sirius let out a sigh of relief wrapping his arms around Cassie and hugging her as tight as he could. Remus and James saw Cassie's pained expression but knew she wasn't going to say anything. She just kept on hugging Sirius and kissing his head.

"Siri! Sirius, I'm fine, I'm here" she said hugging her crying brother. "I'm fine, Siri, I'm alright" she kept on repeating.

"I thought- I thought I lost you" Sirius said between cries. "I thought they h-had you" he said tightening his grip on her. Neither of the other two friends dared to say anything. _Never_ in their entire lived did they think they would ever see either of the Black siblings like this. It was heart-breaking. "I'm so sorry!"

"No, Siri" Cassie said letting a few tears escape from her eyes once more. "I'm sorry" she said resting her head on his as she felt Sirius' breathing slowing down. James helped Sirius back to the bed but he never let go of Cassie's hand. Mr. and Mrs. Potter appeared on James' door being awakened by screams for the second night that night. However, they were a bit relieved to see that this time, Sirius was alright.

"Sirius!" Mrs. Potter ran over to the boy embracing him in her arms. "Oh, darling, I'm so glad you're alright" she whispered.

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter" Sirius tried to say. She was squishing him a bit too hard.

"Mum, he can't breathe!" James said rolling his eyes and Mrs. Potter pulled away a little.

"Right, sorry" she said smiling at the young boy. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything? I'm going to get you something to eat and to drink. Both for you. All of you" she said not really waiting for an answer before she had disappeared out of James' room.

"How are you feeling, son?" Mr. Potter said walking over to the boy.

"I've been worse" Sirius said shrugging it off and trying to smirk. Both Remus and James couldn't help to roll their eyes and laugh. Classic Sirius. Cassie simply rested her head on his shoulder.

"You two gave us quite a scare tonight" Mr. Potter said with a worried tone.

"We're sorry Mr. Potter" they both said at the same time looking away.

"No. None of that" Mr. Potter said with a smile. "I'm just glad you two are alright" he said. "I um, I want you two to know that Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey are coming here tomorrow" he informed them. "We need to sort this… _situation_ out" he said choosing his words carefully.

"Yes, sir" Sirius said looking up at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter" Cassie said with a small smile.

"You're more than welcome" he told them. "I'm going to go help your mum" he said looking at James before he walked out of the room too.

The four friends were left alone, none of them really knowing what to say for probably the first time in their entire friendship. Until Sirius cleared his throat.

"So" he said looking at everyone. "Tell me the truth; do I look worse than Moony after a transformation?"

"Shut up, mate!" Remus said glaring at him but still laughing.

"You're not funny" Cassie said giggling and hitting him softly on his arm while James only laughed.

* * *

The next day, the four friends walked down the stairs and into the dining room where they indeed found Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey drinking tea with Mr. and Mrs. Potter. When they appeared the adults greeted them. Professor Dumbledore said that the first thing that needed to be done was that the twins had to be inspected by Madame Pomfrey to make sure everything was alright. After she was done, they went back into the dining room. Cassie sat down next to Remus and Sirius sat down on her other side. Everyone was silent. Everyone knew what came next.

"Well, my dear children" Professor Dumbledore said looking at Sirius and Cassie. "I believe it is time that you tell us what happened" he told them. Cassie and Sirius turned to look at each other nervously.

"Take your time" Professor McGonagall said with a warm smile.

"W-well um…" Sirius started. Cassie grabbed his hand to encourage him to go on. "I-it all started a few d-days ago…"

 *****Flashback*****

Cassie and Sirius were standing in the middle of the Malfoy's living room while everyone else was chatting, drinking and having a 'good time'. The twins stood there glaring at everyone, each one of them with a glass of Firewhisky in their hands.

"Ugh, I hate everyone in here" Cassie said taking another sip and making Sirius laugh.

"Yeah, me too" Sirius said glaring at a specific spot. Cassie followed his look and saw Roxanne Malfoy back with her ex-boyfriend.

"So, she's back with Goyle?"

"Looks like it" Sirius said shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Siri" Cassie said with a sad smile. She knew Sirius had liked the girl for a long time. And it looked like Roxanne liked him too. But in their world, you couldn't just date whoever you want. Your parents picked it for you. "Siri?"

"Yeah?"

"Were you serious last night? About leaving?" Cassie asked him.

Sirius took another sip of Firewhisky and looked at his sister. "I still am" he said noticing Cassie bite her bottom lip. "I'm sick of them, Cassie. And I know you are too. Father is practically saying you have to break up with Moony, they drag us to this horrible things with this boring people! I know they're not Death Eaters but they still think he has the right idea. We're already Blood-traitors for them!"

"But where would we go?"

"I don't know. We could probably stay with Prongs, it's only for one summer. Then we're done with Hogwarts and we could move in somewhere" he suggested as he drank the rest of his Firewhisky.

"Alright" Cassie said all of the sudden. Sirius turned to look at her a little surprise. "Let's leave" she told him.

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow" Cassie said smiling.

"Cassiopeia" Mrs. Black came over to the siblings, by Lucius' arm and Sirius quickly slipped out of the picture.

"Coward bastard" Cassie muttered under her breath before she finished her drink and managed a fake smile.

"Lucius has insisted on dancing with you" her mother said with a smile on her face. Cassie felt like kicking someone. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Lucius kept on staring at the girl with that evil smile she knew a little too well. "Oh, that's lovely of you but I think-"

"Cassiopeia" her mother said narrowing her eyes at her. "You should be grateful that a fine young man such as Lucius is interested in dancing with you" she said with clenched teeth while giving her the same fake smile. "Don't you think?"

Cassie sighted rolling her eyes and placed her empty glass on the table behind her. He grabbed Lucius' hand and dragged her away from her mother.

"One dance" she warned him. "And keep your hands to yourself, Malfoy" she glared at him.

"Well, you're looking rather stunning today, Cassiopeia" he said smirking at her and placing one hand on her hip and taking her other hand in his.

"Thank you" she replied rolling her eyes. "It's a shame I can't say the same about you" she said with a fake smile towards him.

"Don't you think that this is a much preferable dance for a lady, unlike the one you did with Potter?"

"Don't you think is not the dance itself but the company that I enjoyed better last time?" she said smirking.

"You are rather hostile tonight, aren't you? Not a good look on you, darling" he said smiling at her.

"I have a boyfriend, Malfoy" she reminded him. "Oh, but I don't have to tell you that, do I? After all, you're the one who informed my father" she said.

"I thought it was the right thing to do to let him know that his only daughter was dating a filthy half-blood-"

"Don't talk like that about Remus" Cassie glared at him.

"Honestly, what do you see in Lupin?"

"Not that I would have to explain myself to you, but Remus Lupin is twice the man you'll ever aspire to be-"

"Hah, please, don't make me laugh Cassiopeia" Lucius said smugly. "He's not even our kind-"

"Exactly" she said smiling. "Why are you even interested anyways? Shouldn't you be rejecting my cousin somewhere by now?"

"To be honest with you, I prefer darker hair" he said winking at her.

"What a coincidence, so do I" Cassie said smirking at him.

"Don't you think your mother would love this? For you to be with someone like me?"

"First of all, I could care less what my mother would like and second, I'd rather kiss a Dementor, really" she said with a disgusted face.

"Oh, that's not very lady-like is it, Cassiopeia?" he said as Cassie felt his hand getting lower from her waist. She quickly pulled it back up and glared at him again.

"That's a good way to lose a hand, Malfoy" she threatened him.

"You know, you look pretty when you're angry" he said trying to place a strand of hair behind her ear but she snapped his hand. "Come on, Cassiopeia. Who are you kidding being in a relationship with Lupin? We all know I could make you a lot happier" he told her.

"I seriously doubt that" she told him. "And I believe this dance is over" she said turning around and wanting to walk away but Lucius grabbed her arm rather forcefully.

"The song isn't over" he informed her glaring at her.

"I don't care if he song lasts one lunar phase, the dance is over" she told him trying to get out of his grasp but not succeeding. "Let go of me!"

"Ehem" they both turned around to look at Sirius glaring at Lucius. "What's going on here?"

"I believe this is a matter between me and your sister, Black" he said looking at Sirius.

"I'll tell you what, I'll give you two bloody seconds to step away from my sister" Sirius said with clenched teeth.

"Why? I didn't mind when you didn't stay away from my sister?"

"That's because I wasn't making your sister uncomfortable" Sirius told him.

"Who says I'm making your sister uncomfortable?"

"She's with you, isn't she?"

Lucius simply smirked at the dark-haired wizard. "Look, why don't you turn around and mind your business while I talk to your sister-"

Sirius returned the other boy's smirk before he threw his fist back and punched Lucius in the face. "See, that's the thing with you Slytherins… you _never_ listen" Sirius said glaring at the boy on the ground. He grabbed Cassie's hand ignoring everyone around them that were looking at them and even walked past his parents, who looked appalled at their children for making such a scene. "We're leaving" he informed them before he disappeared with his sister.

 *****Next Flashback*****

"They're plotting something. They have to be" Cassie said walking around in circles in Sirius' room.

"Would you calm down?" Sirius said as he kept on packing. "Maybe they finally came to the realization that they don't care about us anymore. Why do you care? We're leaving anyways" he told her.

It had been nearly a day since the 'incident' at the Malfoy's Manor. They were leaving tonight. But Cassie was freaking out because their parents hadn't even said anything since they came back. By now they should've had about a dozen hexes on their bodies each; but nothing.

"But don't you think it's odd?" Cassie said worriedly. "I mean, they usually say something, anything. But now they say nothing? They don't care? We 'embarrassed them' in front of everyone" she pointed out.

"Cassie-" Sirius was cut off when they heard a knock on the door. Cassie walked over to the door and opened it only to find Regulus on the other side.

"Uh, mother and father are waiting for you in father's office" he announced.

"What? What do they want?" Cassie said feeling anxious.

"Cassie, calm down" Sirius said getting up and walking towards his sister. "Did they say why?" he asked Regulus.

"N-no" Regulus said a little nervous too. "They just told me to get you" he told them.

Sirius nodded trying not to freak out like Cassie was and grabbed her hand. "It'll be alright" he said kissing her head. "Let's go" he told her leading her down the stairs.

Once they reached their father's office, they saw their mother sitting in front of the fireplace and their father standing not too far from her. "Sirius, Cassiopeia" Mr. Black said looking at his oldest children. "Close the door."

Sirius did as they were told and they walked to the same spot Cassie had been not too long ago.

"You should both know that your father and I are beyond displeased with your behavior at the Malfoy Manor last night" Mrs. Black started. Sirius was about to roll his eyes but she continued. "Do not roll your eyes back at me, Sirius Orion" she said getting up. "I am sick and tired of your attitude! Both of you! I knew being in a house filled with mudbloods would do something like this!"

"Muggle-borns mother!" Sirius talked back to her before Mrs. Black slapped him hard across the face.

"Don't talk back to your mother!" Mr. Black snapped from his spot. Cassie could feel her entire body trembling. She knew this was not going to end well. Mr. Black walked over to the twins and stood right in front of them. "That is the _last_ time you two embarrass your mother and me" he said glaring at both of them. "This is your _last_ chance" he warned. "You are lucky enough that your mother talked to the Malfoys and convinced them that it was all a misunderstanding" he told them. "And they have made us an offer that we could not refuse" he continued. Sirius and Cassie turned to look at each other more confused than ever. Mr. Black turned to look at Cassie before he continued. "After Hogwarts, you are to marry Lucius Malfoy" he said as if it wasn't a big deal.

"What?" Sirius asked trying not to snap out right there.

"WHAT?" Cassie said fuming.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Mrs. Black said with a smile standing up next to Mr. Black. "Augustine said that it was about time the Black family and the Malfoy family mixed and you and Lucius would be perfect for that" she informed them.

"Uh- except, I _don't_ want to marry Lucius Malfoy" she said trying not to lose her temper.

"You do not _want_ to marry Lucius Malfoy?" Mr. Black said with a sarcastic laugh. "I did not ask you what you _wanted_ , Cassiopeia" he continued. "This is essential to maintain the blood-purity in our family. The Malfoys are a very respectable family and I honestly don't think there's a better option for it" he told them.

"You should be honored really, that someone like Lucius would look at you that way" Mrs. Black added making Cassie glare at her. "And besides, Narcissa says he is a wonderful man-"

"Well then, _Narcissa_ can marry him for all I care and they can have a kid as arrogant as him-"

"That is enough!" Mrs. Black said. "You should feel very lucky that the Malfoys gave us another chance and the biggest chance possible, now Cassiopeia, you are _not_ going to spoil this for us, do you hear me? You will go back to Hogwarts only to announce that you and Lucius are a couple. You will date for the rest of this year and next year and then you're going to have a lovely wedding, understood?" she said before she started walking out of the office until she heard her daughter.

"No."

Mrs. Black stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned back around. "What did you just say?"

"I said, no" Cassie repeated feeling her legs shaking a little. She was done with this. She was tired and she wanted out. "I will _not_ date Lucius Malfoy and I will _not_ marry him because I already have a boyfriend; someone that I love and someone who loves me for _who I am_ and not because of my last name. Actually, he loves me _in spite of_ my last name. And you _cannot_ make me fit in your perfect little world anymore because I'm done with it. And I'm done with you" Cassie said feeling her eyes water but she never took them from both her parents. And that's when she felt a hand connecting with her cheek. It wasn't her mothers, no, she knew that one. Her father had just slapped her hard.

"You ungrateful little-"

"HOW DARE YOU PUT YOUR HANDS ON HER!?" Sirius said stepping in front of Cassie, who was holding her cheek with her hand, and drawing out his wand, making Mr. Black even more furious.

"Step away from your sister, Sirius" Mr. Black said in a low, scary voice.

"Not a chance, _father_ " Sirius said glaring at him. "See, what they teach you in Gryffindor" he said smirking. "Is to stand up for what is right" he said making both of his parents almost let out steam from their ears.

"Standing up for what's right?" Mr. Black snapped. "You're standing up for a _blood traitor_ who is claiming to be in love with a filthy half-blood!"

"She's not a blood traitor!" Sirius yelled back at him with his wand still raised.

"YOU BOTH ARE! Living with half-bloods and mudbloods. It was only a matter of time!" Mrs. Black said glaring at them.

"I'd rather be a blood traitor than a _Black_ " Sirius said smirking. Before anybody could say anything else, Mr. Black had drawn out his wand and hit Sirius with it.

"Stupefy!" Sirius went flying back in his father's office.

"SIRIUS!" Cassie said running over towards him but Mr. Black kept on pointing his wand at his oldest son.

"YOU THINK YOU ARE BETTER THAN US?" he asked fuming as Cassie tried to help him up. "CRUCIO!"

Cassie saw her brother collapsed next to her yelling in pain. "SIRIUS!"

"YOU TWO ARE NOTHING BUT UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BRATS! WE HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING!" Mr. Black kept on yelling as he kept on hitting Sirius with the Cruciatus Course. "You come from the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black and you act like that's an insult!" he said hitting Sirius again.

"STOP! STOP! Please, stop!" Cassie begged with tears falling down her eyes and stepping in front of Sirius.

"Step aside Cassiopeia" Mr. Black said fuming.

"N-no" Cassie said shaking not daring to leave Sirius' side. Mr. Black grabbed the girl by her arms and stood her up forcefully. Cassie knew she was going to get bruises.

"You two deserve each other" Mr. Black said between clenched teeth before he threw her on the floor, making her head hit a coffee table and then pointed his wand at Sirius again.

"NO! Please stop!" Cassie said getting up and running towards Sirius, making the curse hit her instead. Cassie screamed as the pain hit every single bone in her body. She twisted and turned praying that it would stop but it came again, and again.

"C-Cassie" she heard Sirius trying to get to her but being hit by their father once more.

Cassie managed to stand up and saw her mother on the other side of the room. She was sure she was losing it because she could see just a hint of remorse in her eyes but then she locked eyes with her and Mrs. Black pointed her wand at her. Cassie felt a sharp pain in her arm and looked down at the words ' _Blood Traitor_ ' inking in blood on her skin.

"So you never forget what you really are" Mrs. Black told her. Cassie looked back at Sirius who was still on the floor wincing in pain. Mr. Black was about to draw out his wand again but Cassie managed to reach Sirius first. Only this time, she Apparated them out of his father's office and into the safest place she could think of.

 *****End of Flashback*****

"…and that's how we ended up in your kitchen" Cassie managed to finish.

She looked around to see Mrs. Potter, Professor McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey were all in tears. James and Mr. Potter were shocked and angry. Remus was fuming next to her. And Professor Dumbledore remained calmed. What surprised everyone the most was the numb state both Cassie and Sirius were in. They were telling the story as if it was about someone else. As if they weren't hit with an Unforgivable Curse by their parents repeatedly.

"Oh, my dear kids" Mrs. Potter stood up and quickly walked over to the twins wrapping her arms around them.

"First and foremost I am very sorry for what you two went through" Professor Dumbledore said looking sadly at the siblings.

"Thank you, Professor" they both said with a sad smile.

"You two are still welcome at Hogwarts and we just need to find a place for you in the meantime-"

"There's no need for that, they're staying with us" Mr. Potter said without even thinking it. Sirius and Cassie turned to look at him a bit surprised.

"Um, Mr. Potter that's very nice of you but we could never-"

"Oh, Cassie, don't be silly that is not even up for discussion" Mrs. Potter said smiling at both of them. Cassie felt her eyes welling up with a big smile on her face. This is what families do. This is a home.

"Thank you" she whispered as Remus hugged her closer to him.

"Now, I believe the rest needs to be discussed between the adults, so if you kids would be so kind to excuse us" Professor McGonagall said.

The four friends nodded getting up and leaving the room. James went upstairs to shower and changed and Sirius said he was still tired so he went to take a nap. Cassie and Remus made their way to the living room where they remained silent and looking awkwardly at each other.

"Will you please say something?" Cassie said nervously. Remus turned to look at her and saw tears in his eyes. "R-Remmy, don't cry" she said placing a hand on his cheek.

"I just" he started. "I am so sorry, Cassie" he whispered hugging her closer to him. "I am so sorry I couldn't protect you, love-"

"Remus, why are you apologizing?" Cassie asked confused.

"I just- I don't want anything bad to happen to you" he said looking her straight in the eyes. "You are the most precious thing in the entire world and I promise you that I will protect you from anything and anyone and nothing bad is ever going to happen to you ever again" he said wrapping his arms around her again. Cassie felt a smile coming up her lips as she finally felt peace. _This_ was her favorite place in the entire world.

"I know, love" she said looking up at him and giving him a peck on the lips.

"I promise" he told her.

"I missed you so much" she said leaning back into him.

* * *

"You CANNOT do this! You are NOT going back there!" Sirius tried to reason with his sister.

"What choice do we have? We are not going to dress up with Remus' and James' clothes for the rest of the break! Plus, there are some things that I want to get out of there!"

"Then I'm going!"

"You can barely walk!"

"I don't care! If they see you, they'll kill you!"

Remus and James watched turning their head from one twin to another as they argued. While Mr. and Mrs. Potter were out with the Longbottoms Cassie said she needed to go back to her house to get the rest of their stuff out.

"They're not even going to be there! They're at the Nott's house tonight, remember?"

"I don't care! You're mental if you think you're going there!"

"She can take my Invisibility Cloak" James said all of the sudden.

"See?"

"PRONGS!" Sirius said glaring at him. "Ugh! Fine! If you're going, I'm going!"

"Again, you can _barely_ walk! And I would've been back by now!"

"Fine! Then take Moony with you!"

"What? Are you mad? He already survived one night in the cuckoo's house!"

"Actually, I'm with Padfoot on this one" Remus told her.

"See?" Sirius said smirking.

"What?"

"I don't want you going there alone" Remus told her.

"Fine! You can come" she said rolling her eyes a little. James got up to get his Invisibility Cloak and came back towards them with some Floo Powder.

"Alright, if you're not back in twenty minutes, I'm going there myself" Sirius said kissing Cassie's forehead.

"We'll be alright, Siri" Cassie said walking over to Remus and grabbing his hand. They both stood on the chimney and Remus put the Cloak around them. "Ready?" she asked looking up at him.

"Ready" Remus said nodding.

"12 Grimmauld Place!"

Soon enough, Cassie and Remus both looked around recognizing the Drawing Room in Cassie's former house. Remus felt Cassie shaking a little.

"Are you alright, love?"

Cassie snapped out of her daze and looked at him. "Y-yeah, let's go" she said leading him out of the room.

They quietly walked through the halls and up the stairs. Cassie knew it was likely that Kreacher would be here so they needed to be silent. They reached Sirius' room first. Once inside, Remus removed the Cloak from them and Cassie started grabbing everything she could think that Sirius would want. She placed it on the bag Remus had enchanted to be a bottomless bag. She grabbed clothes, some books, a lot of muggle things he loved and his pillow. The next stop was her room. Once inside the Cloak was removed again and Cassie started grabbing her stuff. The first thing she picked was Remus' sweater that was on her bed. Remus couldn't help but smile at it. She grabbed her books, clothes a lot of pictures she had from her and her friends, another one of her and Remus, one of her and Sirius and then she saw one of her, Sirius and Regulus when they were little and another one of them from the past year. Remus noticed the change in her face and walked over to her wrapping his arms around her waist.

"We didn't even say goodbye to him" Cassie said with a tear rolling out of her eye.

"You can see him in school, love" Remus said kissing her cheek.

"What if he hates us now?" she asked whispering.

"He won't, he's your brother" Remus tried to convince her. Cassie nodded wiping away her tears and kept on with the packing.

Once she was done, Remus placed the Cloak around them again and they made their way back to the Drawing Room. He was about to step on the chimney when he felt Cassie stop. He turned around and saw her looking at the tapestry of the Black family. Cassie didn't care to step out of the Cloak. She made her way over to where her name was just next to Sirius'. Both names burned off the family tree.

"She burned them" she whispered tracing the burned names with her hand. "We haven't even been gone for a day and… she burned them" she said feeling another tear falling down her cheek.

She didn't know why it bothered her as much as she did. They were going to leave anyways and she knew that their name would be burned off. It was just the first time that she realized just how easy she was removed from her parents' lives.

"Cassie, love we need to go" Remus said not wanting to make her upset but he heard something coming from downstairs. Cassie quickly snapped out of it and walked back into the Cloak. The two of them went inside the chimney and Remus got them back to James' living room in no time.

"You're back!" Sirius said happily. Remus gave James the Cloak back and Cassie gave Sirius the bag. "What's wrong? Was anybody there? Did they see you?"

"She burned them" Cassie said looking up at him. Sirius' eyes widened a little.

"Already?" he asked feeling a bit more upset than he'd like to admit too. "She didn't waste any time" he said looking down.

"What happened?" James asked confused.

"Our names were burned off our family tree" Cassie explained to him.

"Wow" James said shocked. As if they hadn't just gone through enough. "Sorry guys" he said sadly.

"It's alright" Sirius said as they all sat on the floor; Cassie leaning against Remus the whole time. "It just… feels weird to not be in a family, you know?"

"Uh, Pads" James said getting his attention. "You _do_ have a family, mate" he said as if it was obvious while Remus nodded kissing Cassie's head. Sirius and Cassie turned to look at each other understanding exactly what he meant. They smiled gratefully at his friends. They had a family and they had a home.

* * *

 **A/N: sorry there wasn't much of Remus/Cassie in here but there still more yet to come! :D as always, suggestions are very welcome... and so are reviews! :D hahaha thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you liked it! let me know what you think :)**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	14. Photograph

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **Hello everyone! First of all, I'd like to apologize because I know that it took me forever to post this! I honestly had THE WORST writers block when it came to this! and I am so soooo sorry! but here it is :D like always, first off I want to thank everyone who read, liked and followed this story! you guys are MARVELOUS! and, obviously a special thanks to my lovely reviewers! :D thank you to an anonymous reviewer I am really glad you liked it, rachelle8 thank you sooo much my friend and I'm so sorry for the wait but I'm back! MaraudersExtra thank you SO SO much for your review! I am REALLY glad you liked it and hope you continue to ;) akaslyfox123 I am so sorry for the waiting! :s haha hope you like it! and another anonymous reviewer who actually helped me a lot in overcoming the writers block! I am not saying when, but I am definetly using your ideas so thanks for that :D and now, here it is, I leave you with chapter 14 enjoy :) - moonylove13**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

 ** _Loving can hurt  
Loving can hurt sometimes  
But it's the only thing that I know  
When it gets hard  
You know it can get hard sometimes  
It is the only thing that makes us feel alive  
We keep this love in a photograph  
We made this memories for ourselves  
Where our eyes are never closing  
Hearts are never broken  
Times forever frozen still  
Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"Remmy! Slow down!" Cassie said giggling as he pulled her down the streets of Hogsmeade.

"No! This is our first official date and I don't want your brothers to ruin it" he said leading her towards Honeydukes. And yes, James had declared himself Cassie's other brother and threatened Remus just like Sirius and Regulus had.

"Love, calm down" she said catching up with him. "Sirius' got a date with some girl" she informed him.

"Still, I feel like he's going to send Prongs or Wormtail to follow us" he said looking around.

"Would you calm down?" she said stepping on her toes to kiss him on the lips. "They wouldn't do that!"

"Sorry, I just… want this to be perfect" Remus said kissing her temple.

"It is" she assured him. "And besides, Peter is with that girl from the Yule Ball and James has a date with Lily-"

"WHAT?"

"Uh, nothing?"

"Cassie!"

"Yes?"

"Are you keeping a secret from me?"

"Me? I would never!"

"Are you sure?" Remus said before he made her back up against the wall and he started tickling her.

"R-Remmy! That's not fair!" she said between laughs trying to push him away.

"Is not fair that you're keeping secrets from your boyfriend" he said as he continued.

"I like the sound of that" she said as she kept on laughing.

"Of what?" Remus asked stopping suddenly.

"My boyfriend" she said kissing him on the lips before and distracting him before she got out of his grasp and ran away from him.

"Hey!" Remus said running after her and catching up with her in no time. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around. "That's cheating" he said leaning down to kiss her again.

Ever since the 'incident' as they called it, Remus had been especially affectionate with Cassie. He was always hugging her towards him or never letting go of her hand. He was making everything he could to make her feel happy. Not that he needed to do much according to Cassie. She was more than happy to be with him weather it was just reading on the couch. But when they had come back to Hogwarts, everything had changed. The news about Sirius and Cassie being disowned flew faster than when Andromeda had been disowned. Most of the people didn't care but everyone in Slytherin didn't hesitate to make nasty remarks about Sirius or Cassie whenever they were around. They didn't really mind though, is not like they were their friends. The only one that broke both of the twins' hearts was Regulus. Ever since they came back, the youngest Black had avoided them. Neither of them showed it but everyone knew that it was killing them inside; especially Cassie. Which is why Remus tried to do anything to distract her from it.

"So? Are you going to tell me about Prongs now?"

"No. Is not my fault I'm Jamie's best friend and he didn't tell you" she mocked him.

"That's not fair!" he pouted.

"Pouting, really?" Cassie said with a chuckle. "Alright James has a date with Lily" she told him.

"She finally said yes?"

"Apparently he asked her over New Year's when we were at Lily's house. Lily said they made a bet and James told her that if she lost that she had to go out with him. But I actually think she was excited about it."

"What was the bet?"

"Uh, I don't want to say" she said nervously.

"You were a part of this, weren't you?"

"Maybe" she said smiling innocently.

"Cassie…"

"Alright! James bet Lily that he knew her better than she knew him" she explained. "And I may or may not have given James all the answers to the questions I was going to ask" she admitted looking down.

"When was this?"

"When you and Sirius were arguing over whether Quidditch was more important than the House Cup" she said rolling her eyes.

"Does Lily know about this?"

"No and she is not going to find out" she said smirking a bit at him.

"Are you threatening me, Miss Black?"

"Actually I was going to buy your silence" she said giving him a peck on the lips.

"Alright, I like that more" he said laughing and kissing her again. "So, what would you like?" he asked her.

"Um… ice cream" she said smiling.

"What? Love, it's freezing" he said with a small laugh.

"But I want ice cream" she said pouting.

"Fine" Remus said rolling his eyes before kissing her head and going to get a no-melt chocolate ice cream for her and a hot chocolate for him. "I honestly think you're the _only_ person that eats ice cream while it's snowing" he said laughing as they walked through the streets of Hogsmeade; Cassie eating her ice cream as if there was no tomorrow.

"And that's why you love me" she said smiling up at him.

"Well, not _just_ that" Remus said smiling down at her before leaning down to kiss her on the lips. "So, would you like to go to Madame Puddifoot's?"

"I don't know, would you like for this to be our last date?" she said mocking him.

"Hey! Most girls want to go there" he defended himself. "Then again, most girls don't eat ice cream in this weather" he said smiling and kissing her head. "So… Tomes and Scrolls?"

"I thought you'd never ask" she said smiling at him. Remus took her hand in his and led her towards the bookshop. While Remus went to ask if they had a new book that he really wanted, Cassie looked around the shop to see if she could find a book that could help her with her potion; since none of the books were helping her so far. She got out a book from the shelf and was distracted by what she saw on the other side of the room. A group of guys from Slytherin were sitting around a table. She couldn't hear what they were saying but something felt off about it. _Alright, maybe is not what I think, maybe they're just gathered here to talk about Quidditch… in a book shop… on a weekend… whit people who aren't even in the Quidditch team… ugh!_ Cassie didn't really want to jump to conclusions but she had a bad feeling inside her. She watched the group of boys standing up and leaving so she quickly put the book back in its place and tried to walk away before any of them could spot her.

"Well, well, look who it is" No such luck. Cassie heard an unpleasant voice behind her. "Is not polite to eavesdrop, Cassiopeia. Didn't your mother ever tell you that?"

"Malfoy" she said glaring at the blonde boy. "It is also not polite to sneak up on them. Didn't your mother ever tell you that?" she asked before walking past him.

"What's the rush?" he asked walking after her. "Is not safe for a beautiful girl like you to be walking around alone" he told her.

"Is safer than to walk around with you, isn't it?" she asked without stopping.

"Actually, I am a prefect, so, naturally, I feel obligated to accompany you and make sure you make it safe" he continued before he stood in front of her and made her stop walking. "A girl, as beautiful as you walking alone in this dangerous times… can't risk it" he said smirking at the girl.

"Actually, I'm not alone" she said annoyed.

"Oh, really? And who's here with you?"

"Me" Cassie heard Remus standing behind Lucius. "Any particular reason why you're bothering _my girlfriend,_ Malfoy?" he asked fuming as he slowly walked over to Cassie and stepped protectively in front of her.

"I was just advising her not to wonder the streets alone" he said with a smirk.

"She's not alone" Remus said hugging her closer to him.

"I can see that" Lucius said with a disgusted face. "Although I must admit better she'd be alone than with a filthy half-blood like yourself" he said looking at Remus. Cassie felt Remus clenching his fist grabbing her sweater. She gently grabbed it and placed her hand in his.

"Let's go, love" she pleaded but Remus didn't move from his place.

"Yeah, I would listen to your girlfriend if I were you, Lupin" Malfoy said with his smirk still on. "Such a shame" he said looking at Cassie. "At least Regulus is smart enough not to follow the footsteps of his older siblings. But don't worry, he found a better role model than you two" he told her with an evil smirk and that was it. Cassie put out her wand and pointed it to Lucius' neck.

"Cassie!" Remus said worriedly.

"Listen to me, Malfoy" she said in a very dangerous tone. "I could care less about what you do with your pathetic little life, everyone already knows you've always been a follower and you'll die that way. But I warn you" she said in a very serious tone. "If you try to pull Regulus along with you, it is _me_ you're going to have to face. And trust me; when you mess with either one of my brothers or my boyfriend, I could be even scarier than that Dark Lord of yours!" she said lowering her wand just a little. "Stay away from Regulus!"

"You two should be careful. It's not very safe for half-bloods and mudbloods out there" he said before he turned around and walked away from them, but he turned around and glared at Cassie. "Oh, I forgot, blood traitors are next on that list" he said glaring at her.

"Remmy, don't" she said pulling him back.

"But he basically threatened us!"

"He's Malfoy. He's not worth it" she told him.

Remus hesitated but gave in when he saw Cassie's big worried eyes. He could see a hint of fear in them so he didn't want to leave her alone. "Cassie-"

"Why don't we go to the Three Broomsticks?" Cassie suggested. Remus smiled, understanding that she wasn't going to talk about it and nodded kissing her cheek.

"Sure, let's go" he said hugging her closer to him.

The couple made their way over to the pub and when they stepped inside, Remus spotted James and Lily in the booth on the corner.

"Remmy" Cassie warned him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Don't _what_ me? Leave it alone" she told him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about-"

"Yes, you do! You have that smirk on your face. You look just like James or Sirius-"

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do" she said with a small giggle and kissing him on the lips. The two of them grabbed a table not too far from James and Lily.

For the first time in a very long time, Cassie didn't care about anything that was going on around them. She was only enjoying the time she had with Remus. He had been the best boyfriend she could ever ask for. She knew that he had been trying to do everything to get her mind off Regulus and off the whole family thing and she was grateful for that. She smiled as she saw Remus had foam on his upper lip.

"What?"

"Nothing" she said with a small smile. "You have a little something in here" she said grabbing a napkin and cleaning it for him. "There" she said before he leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips. "What?"

"Nothing" he replied. "I love you" he said kissing her forehead.

"I love you too" she said smiling back at him before he saw her smile faded.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing" she said looking away. Remus turned his head to see what she was looking at and he saw Regulus entering the pub with Severus Snape.

"Cassie-"

"It's fine" she said sadly.

"It's not fine" Remus said worriedly. "He still hasn't talked to you?" he asked sadly. Cassie only shook her head lightly.

"D-do you think M-Malfoy meant it?" she asked all of the sudden. "D-do you think he'd join them?" Remus didn't get a chance to answer because they both heard a loud bang coming from outside followed by people screaming. "W-what's going on?" Cassie said moving closer to Remus before she heard a piercing scream. "Th-that's Mary!"

"Moony!" James came running towards them with Lily not far behind.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know" he said looking out the window. "We should go see-"

"What? No! Are you insane!?" Lily and Cassie yelled at the same time.

"Someone needs help" James told them. Remus turned around to face Cassie and kissed her head.

"Love, stay here with Lily, alright?"

"N-no! Remus-"

"We'll be right back" he said looking her straight in the eyes.

"But Remus-"

"Cassie, please, just stay here!" he begged. She nodded unwillingly and Remus kissed her forehead once more and then he stood up and walked away with James.

"W-what do you think is going on?" Lily asked a bit scared.

"I don't know Lils" Cassie said glaring at the spot where Regulus and Severus had been, but weren't there anymore. She felt a shiver down her spine remembering the words Lucius had told her and Remus. "We should go-"

"No! Cassie, Remus and James told us to wait here" Lily told her.

"Alright, well, then let's just go look out the window" Cassie said moving to an empty table by the window.

Cassie and Lily managed to see a group of people outside creating chaos along the streets of Hogsmeade. Cassie managed to identify some of them like Avery and Mulciber who were taunting some students she knew here half-bloods or muggle-borns. And Avery's eyes locked with Cassie. He got an evil smirk on his face before he said something to Mulciber and he turned to look at them as well. The two of them muttered something, and Cassie managed to see Mulciber say the word ' _mudblood'_ before pointed their wands at them.

"Lily!" Cassie yelled throwing herself over Lily and pushing her away from the window just as it exploded and the shattered glass cut her arm and her right cheek.

"Cassie!" Lily said terrified. "We have to get out of here!"

"W-we can't! James and Remus are o-out there" she said as they took cover on another booth.

"But Cassie, you're bleeding!"

"I am not leaving without them" Cassie said in a serious tone.

"Lily! Cassie!" James yelled storming inside the Three Broomsticks with Remus looking for them. "Girls, are you alright?"

Cassie ran over to Remus throwing her arms around her and to everyone's surprise, Lily did the same with James.

"Love, what happened?"

"A window exploded" Cassie explained.

"Let's get out of here" James said holding Lily closed to him and leading all of them through one of the secret passages from their map.

* * *

Cassie was seating at the Hospital Wing while Madame Pomfrey attended her cuts. Professor McGonagall had come in to check on her and to inform them that what happened at Hogsmeade was, in fact, a Death Eaters attack. Mary Macdonald was on one of the beds not too far from her, resting. Mulciber had hit her with a bunch of hexes. The trips to Hogsmeade had been suspended until further notice. After her arm and cheek were taken care of, the four friends made their way back to the Common Room. As soon as they reached the Fat Lady, Lily said the password so she would let them in and the four teenagers went inside to find a few people in the room. Cassie noticed Sirius in a corner talking to some random girl who had her legs on top of his. The girl had just let out a giggle about something Sirius had said. She could tell because of the stupid smirk on his face. When he saw his sister, Sirius' smirk fell from his face.

"Cassie!" he said standing up worried and ignoring the fact that the girl sitting next to him just fell on the floor.

"Sirius!" she said furiously as Peter and James tried not to laugh. The girl on the floor grunted in frustration before she stood up and stormed away to her dorm.

Contrary to popular belief, whenever it came to Cassie, Sirius had no problem ditching any girl out of his way. It had always been that way. His sister always came first.

"Cassie! What the bloody hell happened? Lupin!"

"Siri, calm down! I'm fine" Cassie told him. "It's just a few cuts" she said showing him her bandaged arm.

"What happened?" he asked looking at his friends.

"Malfoy and his friends started attacking a few muggle-borns and half-bloods. Just there, in the middle of Hogsmeade!" James said furiously.

"James! Professor McGonagall said that that is a very grave accusation" Lily said. "We do not know who the people attacking Hogsmeade were-"

"Oh, please, Lily. I don't care what she says. I am sure Malfoy was among them" James said to the other ones.

"I saw Avery and Mulciber" Cassie muttered. "I think they were the ones that did that to Mary-"

"They attacked Mary?" Peter said a bit scared and the four of them nodded.

"Do you guys think it's starting, then?" Sirius asked worried turning to look at Remus who had been awfully quiet since they got back. "This… war?"

"I don't know, mate" he said looking away. "Maybe it is" he said sitting down on one of the couches and everyone joined him but Cassie and Sirius, who was pulled back by his sister.

"Siri" Cassie said in a small voice. "C-could I um… talk to you?"

"Sure" Sirius nodded quickly and grabbed her hand before he led her upstairs to his dorm.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked once they were at his dorm.

"Um-" Cassie bit her lip nervously. She had no idea how she was going to tell his brother that their little brother was hanging out with some Death Eaters and he may even be one of them. They had just come back to school, things were still a bit edgy with him but she was sure Sirius missed him and she really didn't want to ruin that completely. "I was just-um well, Remus and I were in Toms and Scrolls and…" she sighted and sat down on Sirius' bed.

"What?" Sirius asked getting worried. "Cassie, what happened?"

"I was looking for some books to help me with Remus' potion and when I grabbed one I saw a group of Slytherins on a table" she started.

"Alright" Sirius asked not really knowing where this was going.

"It's just uh-" Cassie began again. "You know, Mulciber a-and Avery" she continued. "Rosier, Scabior… Snape was there too" she said looking down. "M-Malfoy-"

"Cassie, did they do anything to you?" Sirius asked getting mad.

"N-no" Cassie assured him. "They didn't see me" she told him. "B-but…" she stuttered nervously looking up at her brother. "Malfoy did later and he came over to me and-" she managed to get out.

"And what?" Sirius asked getting angrier every second.

"Well, he started saying stupid things, as usual. But then, Remus came and he backed away, although he told us to be careful because it wasn't safe for half-bloods and muggle-borns and that blood traitors were next on his list" she continued.

"He _threatened_ you?"

"Siri, that's not it" Cassie said with a few tears escaping her eyes. "He said that at least Regulus was smart enough not to follow our footsteps and that he found a better role model than us" she told them as Sirius sat down next to her. "I didn't think any of it, I just thought he was saying it to upset me but then… I saw Regulus walking into the Three Broomsticks with Snape" she said looking up at Sirius. "A-and I don't know, b-but when the attack came, I didn't see him anymore Siri" she finished as she kept on crying.

"What?" Sirius didn't know if he was angry, sad, shocked or if he just didn't want to believe his sister. "Are you sure he was there? Cassie, you know that everyone that you just mentioned is a Death Eater!"

"I know" she said sadly.

"Do you think that-?"

"I don't know" Cassie said biting her lip and Sirius wrapped his arms around her letting her cry on his chest.

"Cassie" he said softly putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Do you think Regulus would do something like that?" she asked letting a few tears escape from her eyes. "I know he's not very fond of half-bloods or muggle-borns a-and I know he's not talking to us, but Siri he wouldn't do that… would he?"

"I don't know, Cass" he said kissing her head. "Look, let's uh- let's not jump to conclusions yet, alright? Professor McGonagall said they hadn't identified the people there, maybe Regulus saw the attack and left" he said not wanting to believe that his little brother could do such a thing. "I'll try to talk to him, alright?"

"Alright" Cassie said wiping away the tears.

"I'm glad you're ok" he said kissing the side of her head. Cassie smiled hugging her brother. "Don't scare me like that" he whispered. Ever since they had been disowned, Sirius had also been a lot more protective of her but she wasn't really complaining.

The two of them then made their way back to the Common Room and joined the group again. Cassie sat down next to Remus, resting her head on his shoulder but he still was really quiet.

"Are you alright?" she asked nervously. She could tell something was bothering him.

"Yeah" he brushed it off.

"Remmy-"

"Could we talk later?" he asked a bit harsh. Cassie felt her heart clench a little but nodded smiling weakly.

"Sure" she said quietly.

After a while of her boyfriend basically ignoring her, she decided to get up and go to the Library since she hadn't been working on her potion lately and she wanted a quiet place to think. She grabbed a couple of books and sat on the floor, against a bookshelf. She tried reading some of the books but her mind wasn't really paying attention. And it wasn't long before someone found her.

"Hi" Remus said quietly.

"Oh, so you're finally talking to me?" she snapped a little more than she meant to but never took her eyes off her book.

"Are you honestly going to be mad at me after what _you_ did today?" Remus snapped back at her.

Cassie shut her book forcefully and tossed it on the floor, thankful that they were on the last aisle and Mrs. Prince couldn't hear them. She stood up and glared at her boyfriend.

"What I did today? What exactly did I do today that made you mad at me-?"

"This!" Remus said grabbing her arm.

"Wait, you're mad because I got hurt?"

"I told you to stay back with Lily and you had to go over to the window and get yourself hurt!"

"How was I supposed to know that the window was going to explode?"

"You saw what was going on outside, Cassie and you still went looking for it!"

"Wait, so let me get if I understand this. It is perfectly fine for you and James to go and risk your lives by helping people but I can't do it?"

"You got hurt!"

"Only because Mulciber and Avery were pointing their wand at Lily! What? Was I supposed to let her get hurt instead?"

"I'm not saying that, Cassie! You're not getting it!"

"Get what?"

"That I am _fucking_ terrified to lose you!" he yelled making Cassie speechless. Remus _never_ swore. She could actually see the fear in his eyes. "Cassie, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you so much and I don't know what I'd do without you! I was so scared when you and Sirius came to James' house I thought…" he couldn't finish that sentence. After that day they hadn't really spoken about it anymore but it was obviously bothering Remus. "After that night, seeing you like that" he said closing his eyes and remembering it. "I promised myself that I would _never_ let anything bad happen to you again, Cassie. And today… I saw what Mulciber did to Mary and I saw him pointing at the window of the Three Broomsticks and _I saw you_ at the window and I didn't know if you had been badly hurt! I _can't_ lose you Cass" he said placing his hands on her arms. Cassie felt her heart clenching a little. She knew Remus had been worried about her since the incident with her parents but she didn't know that he almost blamed himself for it and felt so responsible for her.

"Remmy, look at me" she said placing her hands gently on his face to make him face her. "You're not going to lose me!"

"I know. I just… things are getting dark, love. And I _can't_ let anything happen to you, I would never forgive myself. And I just-"

Remus was cut off by Cassie stepping on her toes and kissing him. "You're not going to lose me" she repeated between kisses.

Before Cassie knew it, Remus wrapped his arms protectively around her and started kissing her passionately. He put one of his hands on her hips and she wrapped her hands around his neck, bringing him closer. Remus pressed Cassie against the bookshelf, not breaking the kiss and Cassie wrapped her arms around his neck. Cassie slid her hands slowly down his chest, causing him to moan softly. He grinned against her lips kissing her hard; he let his lips travel along her jaw line, wrapping his hands around her hips he started making his way down her neck. He smirked as Cassie moaned above him; he made his way back to her lips before kissing her harder, demanding entrance to her mouth, which she gladly gave as she arched her back, bringing her hips closer to his, moving lightly grinding against his tightened jeans. He started kissing down her neck again, placing his hand under her shirt, and lifting it just a little bit. That tickled her a little but Cassie bit her lip so she wouldn't be too loud catching Mrs. Prince's attention. Cassie moaning was an addiction to him. He loved it. Remus held onto Cassie's hips as he went back to her lips, his lips continually moving against Cassie kissing every inch of her exposed flesh. They continued the kiss until a book fell on top of them, making them break apart just a little, both breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry I didn't stay back" Cassie whispered looking down.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you" Remus said lifting her head with his finger. "I love you" he said sweetly.

"I love you too" she replied smiling.

"I just want you to be safe" he said kissing her temple and making her smile.

"I am safe" she said burying herself in him as he embraced her closer to him. "I'm safe right here" she said smiling happily as he rubbed his hand up and down her back and kissed her head again.

* * *

Cassie walked out of the empty classroom sad. She still hadn't managed to brew the Wolfsbane Potion but Professor Slughorn said she was getting closer. She grabbed her books and decided to go back to her Common Room but when she turned around the corner she spotted him.

She saw Regulus arguing about something with Snape and then Snape left. Regulus turned around and Cassie saw that he had a black eye. She had had enough. She walked over to him not caring that he didn't want to talk to her.

"Regulus!" she said once she was near him but he ignored her and kept on walking. "Regulus, I am talking to you!"

"Leave me alone" was the only response she got as he kept his path.

"Regulus Arcturus Black! Stop this instant!" she demanded, making Regulus stop but he didn't turn around. "Look at me!" she said but the boy didn't move. "NOW!"

Regulus slowly turned around to face his sister. Cassie gasped at the looked in front of her. This wasn't her little brother. He seemed exhausted and defeated and… sad.

"Regulus, what happened to you?" she asked scared.

"Why do you care?" Regulus said getting upset.

"I'm your sister!" Cassie said in an obvious tone. And then, Regulus said something that broke her heart.

"No, you're not" he said glaring at her. "You left."

"Reggie-"

"DON'T call me that!" Regulus spat. Cassie saw his eyes slowly filling with tears. Her biggest fear was true. Regulus hated them, just like their parents did. "You don't get to call me that anymore, Cassiopeia!" he continued. "You left me! You guys _left_ me!"

And that's when Cassie saw it. He wasn't mad for the same reasons her parents were. He was mad because they left him with them.

"Regulus, we didn't have a choice" Cassie said with tears in her eyes as well. "Reggie, f-father was hurting Siri-"

"You're lying!" Regulus said with a disgusted tone. "You two wanted to leave! I heard you the night before! You were planning to leave without me!"

"Regulus, we would've _never_ left without you" Cassie tried to convince him. "We just didn't know if you'd wanted to come-"

"Why? Because I'm just like them?" he snapped. "Say it. You think I'm just like mother and father, don't you! You and Sirius always thought so! You and Sirius always looked at me like that! Just because I'm in Slytherin! Just because I wasn't as brave as you two! That is _not_ fair! That does not mean that I don't hate them too! Do you know what is like to be the only one there? To be the only one that has to live up to their expectations-"

"You don't have to do that, Reggie" Cassie said softly. "You can come with us-"

"Go with _you_? Why would I want to go with _you_?" he said disgustedly. Cassie didn't think Regulus could say something worse than what he had said earlier, but apparently, she was wrong. "You're nothing but a _blood traitor!_ "

" _What_ did you just call her?"

The two siblings turned around to see their oldest brother. Sirius was standing at the end of the hallway with a furious look on his face. Regulus put on a straight face and then smirked at him.

"I called her what she is" he said. "Same as you" he continued as Sirius got closer to him. "Nothing but a filthy blood traitor-"

Before Regulus could even finish, Sirius had thrown a punch at him knocking him down.

"Sirius!" Cassie said scared trying to break them up.

"Take it back!" Sirius said as the two boys rolled around punching each other.

"Guys! Stop it!" Cassie pleaded.

"I knew you were just like them! I knew it!" Sirius snapped at Regulus before he punched him again.

"And what? You think you're better than me? How had this made you better than me?" Regulus said with a split lip. "You're homeless, without a family and possibly without a future-"

Sirius cut him off by hitting him on the stomach. "Guys, please! Stop it!" Cassie said trying to get in the middle but failing.

"I've got news for you, mummy's boy" Sirius told him. "We've got a home, we've got a family and we probably have a better future than you do with your Death Eater friends-"

Regulus then hit Sirius on the nose, making it bleed badly. "Guys, that's enough!" Cassie yelled.

"Fuck!" Sirius cursed holding his bleeding nose before hitting Regulus again. "There, now your eyes match!"

The two of them were at it again, until Cassie decided to split them up. Bad idea. Sirius threw his elbow back, hitting Cassie on the face and making her fall backwards.

"Shit!"

"Cassie!" both of them yelled at the same time but Regulus quickly shoved it off. "I'm so sorry!" Sirius said kneeling next to her.

"Look what you did!" he snapped at Sirius while Cassie held a hand to her eye.

"I didn't mean it!"

"That is quite enough!"

The three siblings turned their faces up to see Professor McGonagall glaring at them with a few students behind her; the Marauders being among them.

"You three, in my office, right now" she scowled them. Sirius helped Cassie get up from the floor and they followed her along with an annoyed Regulus. Once she had fixed Sirius' nose and given some ice to both Cassie and Regulus, she sat down in front of them. "Now, would either of you care to explain to me what all that ruckus was about?"

"He started it" Regulus said accusingly pointing at Sirius.

" _He started it_ " Sirius said mocking Regulus voice. "Just like always tell mummy on me!"

"Shut up!" Regulus snapped at him. "You punched me first!"

"You called Cassie a blood traitor!"

"Both of you, SHUT UP!" Cassie yelled at them. "I'm really sorry, Professor" she said turning to look at Professor McGonagall. "It was all my fault" she said looking down. Her two brothers turned to look at her in disbelief.

"Miss Black, you seem to be the only one in here who's not at fault" Professor McGonagall told her. "I know things have been difficult for you" she told them. " _All_ of you" she said looking straight at Regulus. "But this is no way to behave. You three are siblings and it doesn't matter if you are in different houses-"

"You mean at school? Or in real life?" Regulus snapped all of the sudden.

"Mr. Black, I am fully aware of your brother and your sister's situation-"

"They're not my brother or my sister!" Regulus said getting up. "Not anymore" he muttered before he walked out of Professor McGonagall's office. She didn't even bother to stop him. She just turned to the twins; one of them with his blood boiling and the other one with a sad, lost look on her face.

"I am very sorry, my dear children" she apologized.

"Don't be" Sirius said angrily not looking at her. "We don't need him" he said before getting up and walking away too.

"I'm sorry, Professor" Cassie said with her voice breaking. "I was just… talking to Regulus a-and he got angry with me and he called me a blood traitor" she said sadly looking at her arm where she could still see the scar her mother's curse had left. "And Sirius heard him and well… you know the rest" she said with silent tears running through her face.

"I am very sorry, Miss Black" Professor McGonagall said getting up and taking the seat next to her. "I know this has been difficult for you and your brother" she continued. "But try to understand that, Regulus lost both of you, at the same time. And regardless of what you and Sirius believe, he looks up to you and he loves you, very, very much" she said placing her hand on Cassie's arm comforting her. Cassie turned to look up at her and smiled through her tears.

"I don't think he does, Professor" she said sadly. "Not anymore."

* * *

"Hey, beautiful" Remus said softly. He walked down the stairs to the Common Room to find his girlfriend alone sitting by a window. He saw that she had the box of photographs she had taken from her room and she was currently looking at the two of her with her brothers when they were younger and the one they took just last year. "What are you still doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep" she said weakly as he sat in front of her and she put the photos away.

After the episode with Regulus, Cassie didn't speak for the rest of the day and neither did Sirius. Their friends thought it was better to give them some time since they all knew that Regulus was a touchy subject with both of them.

"What about you? Is James snoring again?"

"No, I knew that my beautiful girlfriend wouldn't be able to sleep" he said with a soft smile. Cassie turned to look at him before she threw herself into his arms and cuddled herself next to him.

"Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself" she whispered making him let out a small laugh.

"Maybe I do" he said kissing the back of her head. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"He hates us" she said quietly. "Not because we left home" she continued. "He hates us because we left _him_ " she explained. "I failed him" she said feeling her eyes water up again. She was tired of crying so much but it was what she did most these days.

"You didn't fail him, Cass" Remus told her. "You did what you had to do. You saw your father hurting Sirius and you had to get him out of there" he explained.

"He didn't believe me" she told him. "He thinks we wanted to leave and we did" she said. "I think he's becoming a Death Eater" she whispered.

"Why do you say that?"

"It's what my parents would want him to do. And without us, I think he won't have the strength to say no to them and he will eventually become one" she told him. Remus just held her tight. He didn't really know what else to say. So the two of them just stayed like that for a while watching the dark night outside. "Remmy" she whispered after a while.

"Yes, love?"

Cassie turned around to face him and smiled. "Thank you" she suddenly said.

Remus frowned his eyebrows in confusion. "For what?"

"Just… for everything" she told him. It was true, she had no idea how she would get through all of this without him. "I mean, I know you could have any girl that you wanted-"

"Cass-"

"Let me finish" she interrupted him. "I mean a girl that hasn't been disowned or one that doesn't get herself in trouble all the time, or gets herself hurt or in the middle of a fight with her brothers" she said making him let out a small chuckle. "I just… I know that It's sort of… a lot and if it's not one thing it's another one and well, I'm just sort of a mess but you've just stuck by me through it all-"

Remus cut her little ramble by kissing her softly on the lips and then pulling apart looking at her.

"Cassie, first of all, you're dating a boy that turns into a monster once a month. There is no topping that" he said laughing a little. "And second, I wouldn't have it any other way, love" he said honestly. "Trust me, I'd choose you, with your baggage, than any other girl in the world even if it would be the easiest relationship. I don't want that. I want you. You're perfect to me" he said squeezing her in his arms and making her smile even more. Cassie leaned in to give him another soft kiss.

"I love you" she said smiling.

"I love you too" he said resting his forehead against hers. "So… what story do you want to read tonight?" he said pulling out the book from next to him.

"Guess" she said with a small smirk. Remus didn't even answer. He simply opened the book to the page he needed and once Cassie had cuddled herself against him again, he began reading.

" _Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle…_ "

* * *

 **A/N: well, there it is! again I am so so sorry for the wait! and as always, suggestions are very welcome... and so are reviews! it would really help a lot since the writers block isn't completely gone but I promise I won't take this ling again :D hahaha thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you liked it! let me know what you think :) oh, and also, if you get a chance take a look at my other story that I started it's called Begin Again and it's Fred/Oc! that is all, bye lovies!**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	15. Thinking Out Loud

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **Hello everyone! I am SO EXTREMELY SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER FOR THIS CHAPTER! I honestly have no excuse! I am THE WORST! I know and if you were still patient enough to wait for this THANK YOU SOO MUCH! if not, sorry again! I still want to thank EVERYONE who read, liked, followed and, of course, reviewed this story! you guys are amazing and I promise I will NEVER take this long to post again! special thanks to rachelle8, HP-lover-6462, jilys, The Pie From Pie Land, 3 anons and also anyone who reviewed on my tumblr to this story! you guys are THE BEST! so, without any more interruptions, here's chapter 15! :D btw this story will have about three to five more chapters! :) so we're getting closer to the end :(**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :(**

 ** _I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways_** _ **  
**_ ** _Maybe it's all part of a plan_** _ **  
**_ ** _Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes_** _ **  
**_ ** _Hoping that you'll understand_** _ **  
**_ ** _So, baby now_** _ **  
**_ ** _Take me into your loving arms_** _ **  
**_ ** _Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_** _ **  
**_ ** _Place your head on my beating heart_** _ **  
**_ ** _I'm thinking out loud_** _ **  
**_ ** _Maybe we found love right where we are_** _ **  
**_ ** _Ed Sheeran_**

* * *

"Cassie! Love, slow down! You're gonna get us in trouble-"

"Shhh" Cassie said putting her finger against Remus' lips to make him silent. She pulled him behind a wall and they both heard Filch walking towards them. Remus cursed himself for not bringing the map with him but he had to admit, it was rather exciting this way. "You're gonna get us caught if you don't stay quiet" she whispered grabbing his hand and leading him out once the coast was clear. "And then what would the world say if the perfect Prefect Remus John Lupin ends up in detention?" she mocked him.

"Hey!" he argued but she ignored him.

"Come on!" she said dragging him through the hallways.

"Could you at least tell me where we're going?"

"No!" she said as they kept on walking. Remus tried to contain his laugh. He really loved this girl. That's probably why he ended up walking through the halls after hours. "Alright, alright" she said excitedly when they reached the Kitchens. Remus raised one of his eyebrows confused at her.

"Uh, the Kitchens-?"

"Shhh!" she interrupted him once more before she knocked on the door and one of the House Elves opened it.

"Oh, Miss Black, Mr. Lupin! We were expecting you!" he said excitedly as they stepped inside the Kitchens.

"They were expecting us?"

"You ask a lot of questions, did you know that?" Cassie told him and he stuck his tongue out at her childishly. Remus saw a bunch of House Elves come over towards Cassie and gave her what he thought were endless amount of food in an enchanted picnic basket. "Thank you so much!" she said excitedly.

"You are very welcome, Miss Black" the elf said happily. Cassie made her way towards Remus and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, let's go" she said smiling at him and dragging him out of the Kitchens.

"Uh Cassie, where are we-?"

"Shhh!"

"Wait!" he interrupted her once more before pulling her inside one of the classrooms. "Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout" he said at her confused face.

"Remus John Lupin!" Cassie said trying not to laugh when they heard the voices of the teachers on the other side of the door. "Who knew you had this in you?" she said with a smirk.

"Do you like it?" he said with a flirty smile before leaning down to kiss her on the lips.

"I have to admit, it's quite appealing" she said before kissing him once more. "Being bad feels pretty good huh?" she said against his lips.

"Don't get used to it" he said kissing her forehead. Cassie rolled her eyes before she went to the door to make sure the coast was clear.

"Alright, let's go!"

"Cassie" Remus said with a small laugh but still let her pull him out of the castle. "Cassie, could you please tell me where we're going?"

"I told you, it's a surprise" she whined as they made their way down a very familiar path for Remus. One he wasn't particularly fond of.

"Cassie, _where_ are we going?" he asked in a more demanding way. Cassie stopped and turned to look back at him. She saw the distress on his face so she walked back to him and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Just trust me, alright?" she said stroking his cheek with her hand and offering him a small smile that he returned nervously.

"Of course I trust you, love" he said kissing her temple.

"Come on" she said holding his hand and they walked slowly towards the big Whomping Willow.

"Cassie."

Cassie felt her boyfriend squeezing her hand. She knew he was nervous about this but it was too late to back down now. She poked the knot in the trunk of the tree to paralyze it so they could make their way inside.

"How did you even-?"

"Sirius" she said as if it was obvious.

"Cassie, stop" Remus said pulling her back once they were in the foyer and Cassie was leading towards the stairs. " _Why_ are we here?"

"Oh, Merlin, Remus John Lupin, you are worse than Sirius and James sometimes" she mocked him smirking a little but it faded when she saw how uneasy he actually was.

"I just… don't get why you're bringing me to a room that I… hate" he finished looking down. "I never wanted you to see it" he muttered.

Cassie felt her heart clenching and she placed the picnic basket down on the floor. She walked over to him and lifted his head so he could face her.

"Remus" she said softly before she gave him a peck on the lips. "I love you" she said with a small smile before kissing him again. "I love _every single_ part of you" she whispered before another kiss. "And _that_ is exactly what we're doing here" she informed him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well" she said picking up the basket again and holding his hand in hers again. "I know that you don't really like this room and you have no good memories of it" she said as they walked up the staircase. Once they reached the top Cassie opened the door behind her revealing the room to Remus. "So, I thought you could have at least one."

Remus was taken aback when he saw the familiar room where he came to transition on every full moon. Except this wasn't the room he knew. The room wasn't the disordered dusty room with paper peeling from the walls and stains all over the floor. The room was clean and it was decorated. Christmas lights were hanging all over the ceiling. The fireplace was light up. The four-poster bed had clean sheets on it and it had a lot of pillows. The furniture was still broken but it looked cleaned and the walls as well. The room resembled that time Remus took Cassie to the Room of Requirement when she was upset.

"Finally left you speechless, huh?" Cassie said smiling at Remus' face.

"Wow" he said shocked. "What-? How did you-? I mean, this-"

"Do you like it?"

"This is bloody amazing" he said running over to her and carrying her in his arms.

"Remmy" she said giggling. "The food" she said trying not to drop the basket in her hand.

"Thank you" he said leaning down to kiss her passionately.

"You are more than welcome, Mr. Lupin" she said giving him another kiss.

Cassie got the basket the Elves had given her and started placing everything on the floor like a picnic. "So, what is this all about?" he asked sitting down next to Cassie.

"Oh, you know… tomorrow's sort of a special day" she mocked him.

"Is it now?"

"Mhm" she said casually. "It's my boyfriend's birthday" she said giving him a peck on the lips. "And since his stupid friends decided to throw him a huge party-"

"They're your friends too, you know?"

"I decided that I wanted some time alone with him" she finished grabbing a piece of chocolate and handing it to him.

"So, why here?" he asked knowing there was still something she wasn't telling him.

"Well, if you must know" she said rolling her eyes. "I um-" she sighed. "I read somewhere that it can help with the transition if you think of something to make you happy and so I figured that if you had a good memory here, then when you come here, you'd think of it and it… might… not be _so_ bad" she said sadly. She still hadn't been able to perfect the potion so in the mean time she wanted to do anything she could to help.

Remus couldn't help to smile and he got closer to his girlfriend. "You're amazing, did you know that?" he said before leaning down to kiss her again. "I love you."

"I love you too" she said kissing him deeper. "So" she said grabbing the basket and started pulling out the food inside. "We seem to have everything in here that you love" she said as Remus buried his head on his neck, kissing it lightly.

"Yes, we do" he said kissing her again and making her giggle.

"And, I also got you something" she said pulling something else out of the basket. Remus pulled away from her as she handed him the present.

"Love, you didn't have to get me anything" he informed her kissing her temple. "You've already done enough."

"Says the guy who gave me a bracelet with the constellation I'm named after for _my_ birthday-"

"That was nothing" he said with a small smile.

"We weren't even dating back then" she reminded him. " _And_ for Valentine's Day you charmed it so would light up every time you think of me" she added making him blush just a little.

"Lily helped me with that" he reminded her. "And you charmed a Quill to write on its own and to write like me" he added.

"That's not the same thing" she said with a chuckle. "Besides" she said holding up her left hand to show him the bracelet. "It lights up most of the time" she said with a bright smile and kissed him again. "Open it" she said excitedly. Remus let out a chuckle and opened the gift. And then, the stunned look was back on his face.

"The Velveteen Rabbit" he said not believing it. "How did you-? Cassie" he said feeling his eyes welling up a little.

"Well, I remembered how you told me it was your favorite book when you were a kid" she said sweetly.

"My mom read it to me after I… after I was bitten" he said as Cassie took his hand and kissed it. "She even made me a velveteen rabbit" he said with a few tears rolling down his eyes.

"Really?" Cassie said resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah" he said with a sad smile. "I brought it with me o-on the first day to Hogwarts" he said. "I was really nervous a-and I just wanted to feel c-closer to her" he said as Cassie snuggled closer to him. She was pretty sure he'd never told this to anybody.

"Do you still have it?" she asked with her heart breaking when he shook his head no.

"I l-lost it" he said still looking at the book. "I had it with me on the train and I thought I put it in my bag but... I never found it again" he said sadly.

Cassie leaned towards him to kiss his cheek and wiped away the few remaining tears. "I'm sorry you lost it" she told him. "Maybe I can make you a new one" she offered.

"You don't even sew" he said with a little laugh.

"Lily can sew" she argued. "She can teach me" she said with a small smile.

"Yeah, she can teach you" he said kissing her head. "Thank you so much, love" he said kissing her cheek. "I love you so much" he said finally kissing her lips once more.

"I love you too" she said wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing his lips down to hers again.

"So, what are we having for dinner?" he asked wanting to change the subject and Cassie got the hint.

"Well, like I said, I have all your favorites" she said getting out the rest of the food and lying them down for them. "Oh, and Lily lent me this" she said standing up and walking towards a dressing table and grabbing the record player. Remus watched her with a smile plastered on his face as she looked through all the records she'd borrowed from Lily. "What?"

"Nothing" he said still admiring her when she found one and put it on. "I'm just… wondering what I did to get so lucky" he said standing up and walking towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek while she put on the song she was looking for.

 _For you, there'll be no more crying,_ _  
_ _For you, the sun will be shining,_

Cassie turned around to face Remus with a big smile on her face. "Dance with me" she whispered wrapping her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist.

 _And I feel that when I'm with you,_ _  
_ _It's alright, I know it's right_

"Well, of course. I mean, that's the only way I can dance, isn't it?" he said smirking.

"Well, I do recall you trying to dance with another girl at certain Ball" she mocked him. "How'd that turn out for you?"

"Honestly? That turned out to be the best night of my life" he said leaning down to kiss her.

 _To you, I'll give the world_ _  
_ _To you, I'll never be cold_

Cassie rested her head on Remus' chest and she could hear his heartbeat. She found herself smiling widely when she heard how fast it was going. This was the happiest she'd ever been. And she wouldn't change anything in the world for it. She was entirely sure Remus Lupin was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

"What are you thinking about?" Remus asked snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing" she replied with a small smile.

Remus let out a laugh. "You're a terrible liar, did you know that?" he said kissing her forehead and making her chuckle.

"Yeah, you always say that to me" she said. "I was just wondering why it took us so bloody long to get here" she said making him laugh too.

' _Cause I feel that when I'm with you,_ _  
_ _It's alright, I know it's right_

"Well, you were quite stubborn for a while- ouch" he complained when she hit him playfully on the stomach.

"Excuse me, _I_ was stubborn?" she said pretending to be offended.

"Fine, I guess we _both_ were" he said not giving in. Cassie rolled her eyes but she took it.

 _And the songbirds are singing,_ _  
_ _Like they know the score,_

"But, I must say that now that we finally got here, there is no way I am ever letting you go" he added bringing her back to their original position.

"Is that so?" she said not able to hide her smile at all.

"It is" he said kissing one of her cheeks. "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, Cassiopeia Melania Black" he said kissing her other cheek.

 _And I love you, I love you, I love you,_ _  
_ _Like never before_

"Well, this is off to a great start if you're using my full name" she said playfully glaring at him just a little.

"Would you let me continue?" she smiled up at him before kissing his cheek and nodded.

"You are the most beautiful girl in school; correction, the world" he said smiling when she blushed. "You're brilliant, you're funny, you're bold, you're gorgeous-"

"That's a synonym for beautiful" she said rolling her eyes a bit.

"Well, you happen to be both and I thought you were done interrupting me" he said and she mouthed 'sorry' with a small smile. "You're kindhearted" he continued getting serious again. "You're the strongest girl that I know" he said kissing her forehead. "You are the most remarkable woman I've ever met" he finished whispering to her.

 _And I wish you all the love in the world,_ _  
_ _But most of all, I wish it from myself._

Cassie was at loss of words. The only thing she could do was wrap her arms around Remus' neck and bring him down to her lips. Remus quickly wrapped his arms around Cassie's waist. Remus noticed her kisses were different. It was almost as if they were desperate. He gladly started deepening the kiss as Cassie's hands rummaged through his hair. Although she was nervous she knew that she wanted this to happen. To be honest, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it ever since they were at James' house. They had been pretty close a few times after that but it was practically impossible for them to get some alone time. That's why she planned this so much. Cassie started slowly walking backwards towards the four-poster bed bringing Remus along with her until her legs hit the end of it.

 _And the songbirds keep singing,_ _  
_ _Like they know the score,_

Remus pulled back just a little and looked at Cassie. He brushed a piece of hair from her face and stared straight into her deep grey eyes as her heavy breathing started to calm down a little. "Are you sure?"

Cassie would be lying if she didn't say that she felt butterflies swarming in her stomach. She stood on her toes giving him a sweet kiss on the lips again. "Never in my entire life have I been more sure about anything" she said making Remus smile brightly at her before she pulled him back to her mouth and they both fell on the bed.

 _And I love you, I love you, I love you,_ _  
_ _Like never before, like never before_

* * *

Remus woke up the next morning and he immediately felt a smile appearing because of the girl in his arms. He watched Cassie sleep peacefully next to him. He wanted to freeze this moment forever. She just looked so… perfect. He had never been happier in his entire life. And never in a million years did he think he'd have the best memory of his life in this room he used to hate so much. He felt Cassie stirring in his arms and he kissed her forehead before he saw her slowly opening her eyes and smiling back at him.

"Good morning, love" he whispered tightening his arms around her.

"Morning" she said lazily as she snuggled closer in his chest.

"How are you feeling?"

Cassie turned her head up a bit to face him. "I have never been happier in my entire life" she said before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Neither have I" he told her while running his hand through her messy hair. Cassie let out a lazy smile and brought him down to her lips. She sat up a bit and started trying to fix her hair. "Stop, love" Remus said bringing her back to him. "You look beautiful" he said kissing her head over and over again.

"I love you" she said while running her hands through his already messy bed hair.

"I love you more" he whispered placing his hand gently on her cheek before he leaned down to kiss her again.

After a while of another make-out session, Cassie rested her head on his chest again as she played with Remus' hand.

"Remus?"

"Hmm?" he asked lazily burying his head on her neck.

"What do you think it's going to happen?" she asked a bit nervous.

"Don't think about that right now, love" he said kissing her neck.

"N-no, I mean… when this is all over" she continued. "What do you think will happen… with us?"

Remus sat up a little to see her again. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know… I mean, after we graduate" she continued. "D-do you see a future with us?" she asked biting her lip nervously.

"What? Of course, I do!" he said seeing the relief wash over her face in an instant. "Cassie, I love you. More than anybody in this entire world and… I want to spend the rest of my life with you" he assured her.

"Really?" she asked smiling even more.

"Yes, really" he said as they laid back on the bed. "Do _you_ see a future with us?

"Of course I do" she said playing with his hand again as he did with her hair. "I think that when this is all over and we can finally be free we can all be one big happy family" she told him.

"Are you planning on bringing the Marauders to live with us, because I'm not sure how fond I am of that idea" he said making her laugh.

"There is no way I will be living under the same roof as Sirius _and_ James at the same time" she told him.

"I hate to break it to you, love but that's your next summer" he said with a small laugh.

"Oh, Merlin" Cassie said realizing it for the first time. "I'm probably going to die there, aren't I?"

"Don't worry, I'll be there" he assured her stroking her back.

"Thank you" she said kissing his cheek and going back to her previous position. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Remus?"

"Yes, love?"

"Would you- um… do you think you'd uh- ever… want kids?" she said looking up at him.

Remus looked away and played with their still linking hands. He had never even thought about having kids. "Uh- I don't know" he said honestly.

"Why not?" she said a little sad as she pulled away from him a little and leaned on her side to face him. "I think you'd be a great father" she told him.

"You know why not, Cassie" he said sighing and taking her hand in his again.

"B-but that's not inheritable" she told him. Remus turned to look at her confused. "I uh- I did some research and I found a lot of books that say that just because one of the parents is a werewolf doesn't mean that the kid will be" she said as her boyfriend looked utterly shocked at her. "I uh… told you I saw a future with us" she said blushing a little while rubbing her right arm with her left hand.

Remus sat up and cupped her face with his hand before bringing her to his lips. "You are amazing, did you know that?" he whispered with a small smile. "But I still couldn't do that to a kid or to you… make you an outcast, because of what I am" he said sadly.

"First of all, you are not an outcast. We have been through this" she told him. "Second, I am already an outcast, remember? I was disowned" she reminded him. "And third, any kid would be lucky to have you as a father" she assured him.

"Do you really mean it?" he asked a bit hopeful.

"Every word" she said smiling before leaning in to kiss him once more. "I love you, Remus" she said smiling brightly at him. "I don't think you have any idea of just how much" she said smiling.

"I love you too, Cassie" he said kissing her again and bringing her back to him.

* * *

"So, can anybody tell me what a Patronus look like?" Mr. Goldstein asked his students. Lily was the first one to raise her hand. "Yes, Miss Evans?"

"Each Patronus is unique to the wizard who conjures it, Professor" she said.

"That's right. Ten points for Gryffindor" he said happily. "Now, how does one conjure a Patronus?" he asked. "Mr. Lupin?"

"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, on a single, very happy memory" he replied.

"Excellent, another ten points" he said happily as Cassie kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "Now, I want you all to stand back and you will all do as I do" he said drawing out his wand. He moved his hand as a spiral before he said loud and clear: "Expecto Patronum!"

The students stared in awe as they saw a blue flash of light turn into a lynx right in front of them.

"Wicked" James and Sirius said at the same time.

"Now, off you go children, go on and try to cast a Patronus" he said and the students scattered around the classroom.

The class separated in different spots from the room and tried to mimic their professor. Some of them managed to get a small flash of light while repeating the spell but nobody had been able to perform it quite well. Until one of them did.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Remus' wand produced a big flash of light before a big wolf appeared in front of everyone.

"How did you do that?" Cassie asked impressed.

"I just did what Professor Goldstein said" Remus said a bit awkwardly as everyone admired the big wolf in the middle of the room.

"That is amazing" Cassie said walking towards him.

"Mate, that was bloody brilliant" Sirius said as he still tried to conjure his.

"Excellent, Mr. Lupin" Professor Goldstein said impressed with the young student.

"Thank you, Professor" he said blushing a bit.

"Back to work, the rest of you" he said walking through the rest of the students.

"This isn't working" Cassie whined after her eight attempt.

"You're not concentrating" Remus said laughing at her.

"Yes, I am! I'm thinking about the happiest memory I've got" she argued.

"Not that" he told her. "You're not waving the wand like you're supposed to" he said laughing a little.

"Stop laughing!" Cassie pouted.

"I'm n-not laughing" Remus said trying to stop the laughter. "Alright, look. Try like this" he said walking over to his girlfriend and standing behind her. He gently put his arm around her waist and Cassie let out a small giggle.

"Watch the hand, Lupin" Sirius yelled from his spot. Remus and Cassie rolled their eyes as he placed her other hand in his.

"Alright, love" Remus said resting his head on her shoulder and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Think of your happiest memory" he whispered.

And she did. Cassie closed her eyes and thought about the night her favorite thing in the entire world had happened. She felt Remus guiding her hand and she said the spell one more time. She opened her eyes to see a big bright blue light emerging from it and an animal forming in front of her; another wolf.

"Wow" she said shocked.

"See? You just needed to concentrate" Remus said kissing the side of her head as her smile grew bigger.

"Really original, Cassiopeia" Sirius mocked her. "A wolf."

"Oh, you want to talk to me about uniqueness? Yours is a dog!"

"What'd you think of?" James asked impressed after the wolf had vanished away.

"I d-don't want to say" Cassie said looking down with blush on her cheeks.

"Well, you have to because maybe, is stupid" James said smirking at her and Cassie rolled his eyes before she looked at Remus.

"The first time you said you loved me" she said smiling shyly and making his cheeks turn a bit red as well. Ignoring his friends mocking him and the girls sighing dreamily at them, he walked over to Cassie and wrapped his arms around her.

"Mine was the night before my birthday" he whispered kissing her head and only making her blush harder.

"Remus!"

"What? It was" he said chuckling a bit.

"Really?" she asked excited and he nodded so she stood on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Yeah, that's precious. Mate, get your hands off my sister now! I don't want this kind of public affection in the classroom" Sirius said glaring at Remus.

"Hypocrite" Cassie muttered at him.

The rest of the students kept on trying to conjure their spells. James finally succeeded making a stag appear out of his wand. Cassie was admiring it when she suddenly noticed someone else's.

"What?" James asked confused and she only pointed in front of her.

"Is that-?"

"That's a stag" James said proudly.

"Not yours, loser" Cassie said pointing at another Patronus that was walking around the room; Lily's to be exact. "That's a doe" she said smiling at a speechless James.

"Th-that's a doe?"

"Mhm" Cassie told him smiling.

"So is Snivellus'! Check it out" Sirius said laughing and James glared at him.

"You always know how to ruin the moment, don't you?" Cassie said hitting the back of his head.

"It is my specialty" Sirius said bowing to his friends as they all rolled their eyes at him.

* * *

Later that day, Cassie walked in the Common Room with a bunch of new books she got from the restricted section of the Library. Maybe she'll get something for the Wolfsbane Potion. As she walked inside she noticed it was pretty much empty but she spotted her boyfriend sitting on one of the couches reading a book. She put away her own books and walked towards him.

"Hi" she said sitting down next to him and Remus turned to smile at her.

"Well, hello, beautiful" he said kissing her on the lips. "Where have you been?"

"Um, I was sort of working-"

"On that secret potion you still won't tell me about" Remus said rolling his eyes a little. They had had a few fights over this. Remus insisted she was probably brewing something dangerous for her not to tell him and while she assured him she wasn't but he still felt something off about it. "Honestly, Cass, are you never going to tell me? I'm your boyfriend!"

"I will tell you" she said pouting a little. She knew she should tell him. Everyone kept on telling her to do it; Sirius, James, Professor Slughorn and even Professor McGonagall had mentioned it once along with Professor Dumbledore. But she didn't want to get his hopes up for nothing. She was really close to getting it right. She just needed a little more time.

"I just don't understand why you won't" he said.

"Well, I will once I brew it and I'm really close to getting it" she told him.

"But maybe I could even help you" he said taking her hands in his.

Cassie sighed. "Alright, how about this if I haven't been able to brew it in the next two weeks, I tell you and you help me" she said.

"Two weeks?"

"Mhm" she said smiling.

"You got yourself a deal Miss Black" he said leaning towards her and kissing her hard on the lips.

"You know" Cassie said against his lips. "Not that I'm not appreciating this" she said between kisses. "But people are actually staring" she whispered making Remus stop immediately and feeling his cheeks burning a little. Cassie let out a giggle before wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a kiss on his cheek. "I wouldn't mind taking it somewhere else, though" she whispered in his ear.

Remus didn't need to be told twice. He quickly grabbed his book along with Cassie's bag and quickly started to make his way upstairs. Once they were out of sight of the people remaining in the Common Room he attacked her lips again before even making it to his dorm. Cassie had to admit that she _loved_ this side of Remus. It made her feel… wanted. And it made her want him even more. The two of them quickly ended at the boys' dorm with Cassie's back pressed against the door. Remus quickly opened it, never breaking the kiss and then closed it behind him.

"Sirius?!" he screamed against her lips making Cassie instantly pull away.

"You know, it would really help when you're kissing me, if you don't shout my brother's name" she said letting out a laugh and Remus rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm just checking no one's here" he informed her.

"Oh" she said before turning around and they both made sure nobody was in there. "I think we're alone" she said smirking once they both so the room was, in fact, empty.

Remus walked over to Cassie and leaned down to kiss her hungrily. They started deepening the kiss and he grabbed her hips pulling her closer as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. Remus started walking backwards towards his bed and bringing her with him as he kissed along her neck and collarbone desperately wanting to feel every inch of her small frame pressed against him. He lifted her easily and she eagerly wrapped her legs around his waist. Cassie moaned as he made his way back to her lips, both of them falling on the bed, her on top of him, and he kissed her harder. He gently turned them around so now he was on top of her, never breaking the kiss. Cassie undid his tie and started unbuttoning his shirt. He immediately came to meet her lips again and started to run his hands everywhere. He gently started undoing the buttons of her shirt and tickled her a little; making her moan and giggle at the same time. He took her shirt off and started traveling all over her exposed flesh. He went back imploring for her lips and she grabbed his head and pulled him as close as she could to her.

"I love you" she whispered to him as he kissed her neck again and made his way to her stomach.

"I love you" he whispered back to her and kept on kissing her exposed skin. "So, so much, Cass" he said smirking and kissing her lips again. He felt her smile against his lips. He hand was making its way towards her skirt when…

"Hey Moony, Prongs, Wormtail and I are about to- BLOODY HELL! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" Sirius yelled coming inside and covering his eyes at the scene in front of him. Remus instantly jumped off Cassie and fell to the floor. James came in running with Peter behind him when they heard Sirius yell.

"Why are you yell- oh bloody hell!" he yelled when he saw Remus standing up and saw that both of them were half naked.

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Sirius yelled to Remus and started running after him with his wand pointing at his neck. But Cassie stepped in between.

"Sirius, stop!"

"Get out of the way Cassiopeia!" Sirius' voice was dangerously low. Cassie could actually see him trembling with anger.

"Padfoot, calm down" Remus said trying not to show how nervous he really was.

"Calm down?!" Sirius snapped as James walked next to him. His wand was still in place. "That's MY sister!"

"Siri, please, calm down!" Cassie said also a little nervous. She hadn't seen Sirius this angry ever in her life.

"SHUT UP, CASSIE!"

"Don't yell at her!" Remus snapped.

"Mate, shut up! You're lucky you're still alive!" James told him.

"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP! Stop yelling!" Cassie yelled to all of them. She then realized she was still in her bra and not only her brother and her best friend were standing there, but Peter was still at the door, pretty much ogling her. Remus noticed this too since he grabbed the nearest shirt (his) and quickly placed it on her. "Guys I know you're taking care of me, but we weren't doing anything you haven't done with pretty much any girl at this school" Cassie complained.

"That's different!" James whined.

"Yeah, you're my little sister!" Sirius told her. "You're not allowed to do this-!"

"Oh, I'm _not allowed_?" Cassie said getting equally mad as Sirius probably was. "So, it's perfectly fine for you to go around from girl to girl but it is not when I'm with my boyfriend? You know that is very hypocritical and sexist-"

"Oh, no! Do not try to turn this around! You are lucky I still haven't murdered your _boyfriend_ " he said mocking Cassie's voice with the last word. "I'm not just going to stand here and let you mess around with my sister-"

"Whoa, wait, Pads, I'm not messing around with her!" Remus defended himself. "I love her! I'm in love with her, alright? You know that!"

Cassie smiled sweetly up at Remus and she took his hand in hers. "Yeah, Siri, I love him too" she said looking at Sirius. "I know you're my _older_ brother-"

"Ehem!"

"You too, Jaime" she said rolling her eyes. "But shouldn't you be happy that I found someone who loves me?" she said smiling weakly.

Sirius felt his wand lowering a little but his glare remained on the werewolf.

"No! You- you're my little sister and-" he stuttered. "AND NO!" he said storming out of the room. Peter left behind him.

"This isn't over" James said glaring at both of them. Cassie rolled her eyes once more and Remus buried himself in her neck.

"Your brothers are going to kill me, aren't they?" he whined to her.

"No, they're not" Cassie said turning around and giving him a peck on the lips.

"CASSIOPEIA! REMUS! GET DOWN HERE!" they heard Sirius yell.

"Ok, they might" she said a little nervous. Remus got another shirt out of his trunk and he grabbed Cassie's hand before they walked downstairs. The Common Room was still empty except for two of the three Marauders. Apparently, Peter had decided he didn't want to be a part of this. "Siri?" Cassie asked confused.

"Don't _Siri_ me. Take a seat" he told them pointing at the couch.

"Mate-" Remus started.

"Sit down, Lupin!" James told him. Cassie and Remus sighed and sat down while Sirius and James kept glaring a little at them.

"Alright, so we seem to have a bit of an… occurrence here" Sirius started.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd know that word" Cassie mocked him.

"I'm talking, Cassiopeia Melania Black" Sirius said in a serious tone.

"Full names, really, Sirius Orion?"

"When a man and a woman love each other very, very much they tend to start having certain feelings" James started.

"You cannot be serious" Remus muttered sighing frustratedly.

Cassie put her head between her hands. "This isn't happening."

"Yes, it is" James told her. "You are our little sister and we have to look out for you" he said glaring at Remus.

"Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die!" Sirius burst out. "Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up, just don't do it, alright? Promise?"

"Alright, this is just ridiculous!" Cassie said standing up.

"What would you do if you get pregnant?" Sirius asked her. "What is your plan, young man?" he turned to look at Remus.

"Stop talking like a parent" Cassie said annoyed. "You guys aren't any of our parents, so just stop!"

"Well, excuse us for taking an interest in the future of our little girl" James said offended.

"That sounded gay" Cassie said with a little chuckle. "Is there anything you guys would like to tell us?"

"This is serious, Cassiopeia!" her brother told her. "And I'm still waiting on your answer" he said to Remus again. "What are you gonna do if she gets pregnant?"

"Sirius, she's not going to get pregnant!" Remus said standing up too.

"How do you know that?" James asked.

"Because we were careful" Cassie suddenly said without really thinking. Bad move. Sirius' anger got to a level where Cassie could swear she could _feel_ it.

" _Were_ careful?"

"Shit! That wasn't right" Cassie muttered to Remus.

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Sirius yelled looking at Remus who started running around the Common Room and ran up back to their dorm with Sirius behind him.

"Sirius! Stop it!" Cassie yelled from the bottom of the stairs before quickly following them along with James.

"You were supposed to be my best friend!" Sirius yelled running after Remus and trying to hex him but he kept on missing. "That is _my sister_!"

"I know that, Pads! I know she's your sister! But she's _my_ girlfriend! And I _love_ her, man! I love her more than anything in the world and I swear I would _never_ hurt her!" Remus yelled back. He saw Sirius calmed down a little bit but his wand was still pointing at him. "I fucking love her, Sirius" he continued. "I have never felt like this for anyone. I love Cassie and you know that! You know I have for so long now and you know she's been my best friend and I've done nothing but protect her ever since I've known her" he said as Sirius tried to get his breathing back to normal. "I would die before I'd let anything bad happen to her, Sirius and you _know_ that" he finished. Sirius was still glaring at him slowly lowering his wand but he just stood there.

"I know that" Sirius said sighing and running a hand through his hair frustrated. "It's just… I don't want- _I can't_ let anything happen to her" he said with his voice turning sad now. "I am all she's got left" he said looking at Remus straight in the eyes. Cassie felt her heart aching and her eyes watering a little.

"I know that, Padfoot" Remus said walking over to him. "But you know that we also won't let anything happen to her" he said pointing at James and himself. "And you _know_ that I'd never hurt her" he added. "Or you."

"I know" Sirius said annoyed before letting out an annoyed groan and leaving the room, passing James and Cassie and down to the Common Room.

"Siri" Cassie tried but he ignored her and before she knew it, he was out of the portrait. "Great" she said sighing sadly. "Now neither of my brothers are speaking to me" she said looking down. Both James and Remus could see her eyes watering.

"Hey, Cass, don't worry about it" James said placing his hand on her shoulders. "Just let him cool off a while" he assured her as Remus came over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"It'll be alright, love" he said kissing her temple as he felt her arms around his waist.

"Yeah, but for future reference, you might not want to use our dorms for your little rendez-vous" James said smirking at them. Remus glared at him and Cassie pretended to laugh before grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at his face. "That was uncalled for."

* * *

"Siri?"

Sirius turned around to find his sister standing at the stairs of the Astronomy Tower with two big bowls of ice cream; one vanilla and one chocolate.

"How'd you find me?" he said letting out the smoke of his cigarette.

"Um- J-James let me borrow the map" she informed him as she walked towards her brother and sat next to him. "You didn't come down for dinner" she said in a small voice.

"I wasn't hungry" he said still not facing her. He finished his cigarette and tossed it away before turning to the bowls in her hands. "Is that for me?" he asked pointing at the bowl of vanilla ice cream. Cassie nodded handing it to him. "Thanks" he said quietly.

"Will you please look at me?" Cassie asked sadly. Sirius sighed before he finally turned around and faced her. "Are you still mad?"

"I'm not mad, Cassie" he said taking a spoonful of ice cream. "Not at you."

"Sirius, this isn't Remus' fault-"

"I'm not mad at Moony either, I just-" he said running a hand through his hair. "I guess, I never thought of you being _that_ in love and… well, that you're not a little girl anymore" he said looking down. "I know it's only five minutes but you're still my little sister" he told her. "A-and this is it, I mean, it's just you and me Cass. And I just… I don't want to lose you, alright? I know I'm not the only thing you've got left but… you're mine" he admitted making Cassie's heart break just a little. "You're everything that I've got left and I can't fail you. Not again" he said.

"When, in our lives, have you ever failed me?" she asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Cass-"

"No, Sirius, really. When have you ever failed me? You have looked out for me my entire life. Do you honestly think things changed now that we are disowned? First of all, we got disowned _because of me_ and second, long before that, do you really think I ever felt cared for by _them_? You were the one who taught me how to ride a broom, you were the one who'd let me sneak into his room when there were thunders or would check my closet for monsters. When I was sorted into Gryffindor, do you know why I wasn't even remotely afraid? It's because you were here with me and you assured me everything will be alright. You helped me face my boggart in third year, you made Bertram's head twice its size just for lifting my skirt" she said with a small laugh and making him laugh a little too. "You stood up to father for me and took the worst kind of punishment I think anyone's gotten from their parents" she said with her eyes filling up with a few tears. "And I'm not all you've got left, Siri. We have James and Remus and Mr. and Mrs. Potter and trust me, no matter how much I love Remus, you're still my favorite person in the entire world and you will never, ever lose me" she assured him. "You've always taken care of me, Siri" she said smiling. "You're my hero" she finished before she hugged him.

Sirius smiled down at her and wrapped his arms around his sister. "I love you" he said kissing her head. "You know that, right?"

"I know" she said smiling both of them looking at the scenery in front of them.

"And you're my favorite person too."

"I better be" she said making him laugh a little as they pulled away.

"Sorry I overreacted" he said softly. "But if I ever walk in on you two like that again, I'm pretty sure I will burn my eyes off or Moony's" he said making her laugh before she took a spoonful of her ice cream and turned press her chocolate lips against his cheek blowing while laughing. "CASSIE!"

"I love you!"

* * *

 **A/N: there we go! :D I thought they deserved a drama-free(ish) chapter! :) hahaha once again, really sorry for the wait but I hope you guys like it! :) and as you know, suggestions, ideas, and reviews are always welcomed! :D thank you guys again soo much for reading! and let me know what you think :)**

 **Song: Songbird - Fleetwood Mac (although I love the version where Santana sang it on Glee :D)**

 **Mischief Managed!**


	16. Eraser

**A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!**

 **I am not even going to try and make an excuse as to why I took so long for this chapter! I just hope you can all forgive me and you guys enjoy this new chapter :) I would like to thank EVERYONE who read/liked/followed and especially reviewed this story! thanks so much for not giving up on me! :D and now, here it is! chapter 16! :D enjoy, dearies!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :(**

 _ **I'm well aware of certain things that will destroy a man like me**_  
 _ **But with that said give me one more, higher**_  
 _ **Another one to take the sting away**_  
 _ **I am happy on my own, so here I'll stay**_  
 _ **Save your lovin' arms for a rainy day**_  
 _ **And I'll find comfort in my pain**_  
 _ **Eraser  
Ed Sheeran**_

* * *

"What happened?" Cassie demanded, entering the Common Room in her pajamas, followed by three of the four Marauders. She was glad it was a Sunday because it was still early and everyone was still asleep.

"Cassie, we're-"

" _What_ happened?" she repeated looking straight into her brother's eyes.

"We just… we lost him for a minute a-and-"

"You lost him for a minute?" she asked with an angry laugh. "You _lost_ him for a minute!?" she yelled making all three boys wince their faces. They knew the wrath that was coming and it wasn't going to be pretty. "Remus is lying in a fucking bed in the Hospital Wing fighting for his life! They don't know if they're gonna have to transfer him to St. Mungo's because some of his wounds are too deep and all you can say to me is we lost him for a minute?!" she yelled frustrated before she sat down on the nearest couch. "I can't believe I let this happened" she muttered to herself.

"Cassie! This isn't your fault-" James tried to convince her. Wrong move. If looks could kill, James would be six feet under right now.

"No! You're right! This is _your_ fault!" she said pointing at the three of them. The three boys started walking backwards as she walked closer to them. All of them knew better than to cross her in this state.

"Cass-" Sirius started stepping between his sister and his friends. He knew where this was headed.

" _You_ are the ones who are supposed to go with him every full-moon to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen!"

"Cassie-"

" _Where_ the bloody hell were you? _How_ could you lose him?"

"Cassie, stop it!"

" _Why_ did you spend endless amounts of time becoming a bloody animal if you're just gonna let him get hurt either way?!"

"Cassie, calm down!" Sirius said raising his voice a little. Sirius knew what was going on with his sister. And he knew that he was the only one that could calm her down at this point.

"NO! Don't tell me to calm the fuck down, Sirius!" he knew that his sister was going to break down at any second. "They took him away!"

"I know, Cass" Sirius said as calmed as he could.

" _You_ were supposed to be there!" she yelled at him.

"I know" Sirius said feeling even guiltier and even feeling his eyes welling up a bit.

" _Where_ were you?!" Cassie yelled before she said balling her hands into fists and she was about to hit Sirius' chest but he grabbed her wrists. " _WHERE_ WERE YOU?!"

"CASSIOPEIA!" Sirius yelled at his sister just before she broke down screaming and crying and Sirius took her into his arms. Cassie tried to fight her way out of it, but there was no way Sirius was letting her go. James and Peter stood shocked looking at the twins. Peter had never seen the twins like this. James had to look away remembering the night they both appeared in his kitchen, although the image was the other way around. "Listen to me" Sirius said once Cassie stopped fighting and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as if her life depended on it. "This is _not_ your fault" he said knowing exactly that Cassie was yelling at them everything she thought about herself at the moment. "Remus is going to be fine. You can't beat yourself up for this" he whispered feeling a few tears rolling down his cheeks as she buried her head in his shoulder. "This isn't your fault, Cassie" he said kissing her head.

"Yes, it is" she said trying to calm down. "I can't brew that stupid potion-"

"Cassie, stop" James said quietly, thinking now was safe to talk. "We're sorry we lost him" he said kneeling down beside Sirius and looking at the girl with sad eyes.

"Yes, Cassie, if anything, it's our fault" Peter said from behind James.

"He'll be ok, Cass" James assured her.

"I'm sorry" she whispered wiping away her remaining tears.

"Don't apologize, sis" Sirius said kissing the top of her head.

"Cassie?" the four teenagers froze when they heard that voice and they slowly turned their heads to look at the stairs, only to find a redhead witch standing at the bottom.

"Lily" Cassie said pulling apart from Sirius nervously. "H-how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough" she explained walking over to the group. "How long have you guys known?"

"Known w-what?" James said acting innocently.

Lily simply rolled her eyes at them. "That Remus is a werewolf" she said.

"What? W-where did you get that?" Sirius said with a nervous chuckle.

"Guys, please. I'm not stupid" Lily said looking straight into Cassie's eyes. "How long?"

"I've known since third year" she said softly. "The guys have known since second year" she informed her and Lily nodded silently. "Lily, you can't tell anyone-"

"I don't plan to" she said casually. "Remus is my friend too; you know?" she told her with a small smile and Cassie tried to return it.

"H-how did you find out?" Peter asked her.

"I've suspected it for a while" Lily informed them. "And tonight, when James came to get Cassie, I knew something was wrong, so I decided to wait for when you came back but then I heard you all screaming here so…" she explained before she looked back at Cassie. "Is he… alright?"

"No" Cassie said with a few more tears falling down her cheeks as she sat back on the couch and Lily quickly made her way to her friend. "Madame Pomfrey said he was badly wounded and she doesn't know when he's gonna wake up" she said between sobs as Lily stroked her back. "What if he doesn't wake up?"

"Cassie, don't say that" Sirius said kneeling in front of her sister. "Moony will wake up, alright? You can't think this way" he said taking her hand in his. Cassie nodded at her brother but deep down, she had never been this scared. "Come on, let's go to sleep."

* * *

Not even an hour passed for Cassie to be back at the Common Room with every book she had for potions scattered around the table. Parchments were flying everywhere, she needed to brew this potion and she needed to do it now. The following days were very similar to that night. Cassie came out of her room and went straight to the library. If she wasn't at the library, she was at her assigned class, working on her potion. And if she wasn't there, she was at the Hospital Wing, visiting her still unconscious boyfriend. And this time, it wasn't only Sirius who noticed.

"Sirius, we need to talk" Marlene, Lily and Alice sat in front of the three Marauders.

"How can I help you, ladies?"

"It's about your sister" Alice continued.

"We're worried about her" Lily added. Sirius sighed. He knew why. He was worried too. But he knew his sister better than anyone and he was certain that there was no stopping her now.

"Look, girls, Cassie is going through some stuff right now, so just… let her be" he tried to reason with them.

"We know it's about Remus" Marlene stated. The three boys turned to Lily, who clear her throat quickly.

"You know, about how ill he's been lately with a horrible, contagious flu" she clarified.

"Right" James said still a bit uncertain.

"We know Cassie's worried about him but… look at her" Alice pointed.

The group of friends turned to look at Cassie, sitting by herself, reading a book, on top of a pile of other books. She looked exhausted. Her hair was all over the place, there were dark circles under her eyes, she had one of Remus' sweaters on her and Sirius was 100% certain that she was eating as little as possible, hence the full plate next to her.

"She is a mess! She's skipping class" Lily said sadly.

"She's not taking care of herself" Marlene told her.

"She's not sleeping… at all" Alice told him.

"Girls, I know. But I know my sister and right now, the only person who could maybe get through to her, is in the Hospital Wing" he told them.

"Well, if she keeps this up, she might occupy the bed next to Remus" Marlene continued.

"Well, why don't you talk to her?" James suggested.

"We've tried!" they said at the same time.

"She won't listen to us" Alice added.

"She just keep reading books and wondering off to the Library, Merlin knowing why" Lily said. Yes, she knew about Remus, but she still didn't know about Cassie's potion.

"Would you please talk to her?" Marlene said, looking at Sirius who sighed once again.

"Fine. I'll talk to her" he said as he continued eating but he still felt the girls' eyes on him. "What? Now? I'm eating for Merlin's sake!"

"Well, she's not" Alice pointed out.

"She just left" Lily said.

"Ugh, bloody hell" Sirius said, quickly getting up and following his sister, not noticing two other people, witnessing the whole scene. Sirius ran out the hallway and followed his sister, who was walking with her head buried in the book. She didn't even noticed the students around her who tried to doge her so she wouldn't crash into them. "Cassie!" but she didn't stop, or even acknowledged her brother. She simply turned around the corner and entering the same classroom she was always in, to try and work on her potion. Once he was at the door, Sirius' jaw dropped. The blackboard had endless writing on it, parchments and books were scattered _everywhere_. There were stains all over the floor, table and one was even on the ceiling. Some cauldrons were melted, some looked burned. But it wasn't until he saw his sister take off Remus' sweater that he felt is stomach drop. Burns and bruises were all over her arms. Recent ones. "Cassie" he said, feeling his eyes water a little.

Cassie jumped in surprise, finally realizing someone was in there with her. "Sirius! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Are you joking? I've been following you since the Great Hall! Didn't you hear me?" he said, walking closer to her. "Cassie, what the bloody hell is going on?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's going on" she said with a small chuckle.

"Cassiopeia, look at yourself!" he said raising his voice a little. "When was the last time you slept? Or ate something? And now you're skipping class?"

"It was only Ancient Runes-"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Sirius snapped. "Cassie, I know how you're feeling-"

"Oh you know?" she snapped back at him. "How am I feeling, then, Sirius? Huh? How do you think seeing my boyfriend unconscious in the Hospital Wing makes me feel?" she said with her voice breaking a little. "How do you think that not knowing if he'll ever wake up makes me feel? How do you think _knowing_ that I could've done something to avoid this but I didn't makes me feel" she said, now with tears running down her cheeks.

"Cassie, this isn't your fault" Sirius assured her.

"Yes it is!" she said slamming her book on the table and making a cauldron fall to the floor. "I can't brew this bloody potion" she said crying harder. "I can't and I don't know what to do, to help him, Siri" she said, making her brother's heart break. "I can't go to sleep" she continued. "And I am so exhausted" she said frustrated. "But I can't sleep, because I see him, lying on that bed, helpless" she said as more tears came out of her eyes. "I don't want to lose him" she said breaking down and Sirius ran over to her.

"Cassie, you're not gonna lose him" he said stroking her back and kissing her head. "And even if you get this potion done today, it won't help Remus, right now. He's gonna need you there when he wakes up, and how do you think he's gonna feel if he sees that you haven't slept or eaten" he scowled her as he put Remus' sweater around her again, when he felt her shivering. "And you now he is going to flip out if he finds out you're skipping class" he said making her let out a tiny laugh. "Cassie, I know you're worried" he said wiping the remaining tears with his thumb. "But Moony is gonna be fine" he tried to convince her. "And you _will_ brew this potion, because you are the most brilliant person that I know" he said kissing her forehead. "But you can't do that if you deprive yourself from sleep or food" he instructed.

"I know" she admitted, looking down.

"Well, isn't this nice?" both teens turned around to look at the door only to find Severus Snape standing there.

Cassie quickly took out her wand, closing every book and erasing everything on the blackboard.

"What do you want, Snape?" Sirius asked glaring at the boy.

"Oh just wanted to see how Black's potion was working? Or rather, not working?" he asked smirking at the girl.

"Don't you have anything better to do than sticking your large nose in other people's business?" Cassie asked turning to look at him.

"For your information, Professor Slughorn told me that you were here and that I should check up on you" he told them.

"Do you expect us to believe that?" Sirius asked him.

"I don't really care if you believe me or not, Black. I just had to come here and report to Professor Slughorn if you needed anything" he told him.

"I do need something, I need you to leave me alone" Cassie said glaring at him.

"So, what potion are you making?" he asked looking at the cauldron behind her and walking inside of the classroom. Sirius quickly stepped in front of Cassie.

"Like I would tell you" she said glaring at him.

"Aren't you an ungrateful little witch, Black" he said. "I was only trying to help" he said with an evil smile. "You look a bit… beat after all."

"You heard her" he told him. "She told you to leave."

"You can't hide behind your brother forever" Snape said turning back to look at her. "I'll find out what your potion is" he said. "And I know it's got to do with your pathetic boyfriend, lying on the Hospital Wing right now" he before he turned around and walked towards the door.

"YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" Cassie said trying to throw herself at him but Sirius stopped her. Snape turned around with an evil smirk on his face. He knew he'd get to her. "Leave Remus alone, do you hear me?" she threatened.

"I told you, you'd regret winning this, Black" he said before glaring at her brother and then turning around, leaving the classroom.

"Oh no" Cassie said feeling her knees shaking. "What if he finds out? Do you think he knows?"

"Cassie, look at me" Sirius said, trying to stay calm. "Snape knows nothing, alright? Right now, you're gonna go upstairs and you're going to sleep for at least a while" he tried to reason with him.

"Are you crazy? I cannot go to sleep! Especially now since that bloody git is trying to find out everything I'm working in" she said making the words on the board appearing again and all the books going back to their original state. "I need answers" she said looking through books. Sirius let out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine, at least just… drink some water" he said pouring water on a cup. He also poured a sleeping potion he'd just stole. He didn't want it to come to this, but he knew she needed it.

"Fine" Cassie said taking the cup and drinking the whole thing as quickly as she could, without even thinking. "Happy?" she said before Sirius saw her eyes roll and she fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry sis" Sirius said sadly. Just then, James walked into the classroom with the invisibility cloak. "Could you take her upstairs?"

"Where are you going?" he asked confused as he carried Cassie in his arms and Sirius put the cloak around them.

"I have to talk to Snape" Sirius said with a death glare on his face. As they went their separate ways, they both failed to notice the other person that was watching them, walk into the class. Regulus Black stood inside, admiring his sister's work, and confirming all of his suspicions were right.

* * *

Remus Lupin was discharged from the Hospital Wing, later that day. When he woke up, every single part of his body ached, like it never did before. This was definitely the worst full-moon he could remember ever experiencing. After Madame Pomfrey examined him and alerted Professor Dumbledore, she said he was free to go. He informed him that his friends were probably still in class and he could wait for them, but he just wanted to rest on his bed. He'd been out for five days but he still felt exhausted. He slowly made his way to the Common Room, ignoring the Fat Lady's comment about him looking like hell, and was glad everyone was still in class. He made it all the way up to his room and as soon as he opened the door, he smiled. Seeing his sleeping girlfriend in one of his favorites sweater, lying on his bed made every single pain in his body fade. He slowly walked over to his bed and laid down next to her, careful not to wake her up.

"Hi, love" he whispered, kissing her forehead and wrapping his arms around her waist. Cassie simply snuggled closer to him and he smiled as they both fell soundly asleep.

A few hours later, Cassie opened her eyes, feeling more rested than she had in weeks. She rubbed her eyes with her hands, when she thought she still might be dreaming. "Remmy?" she asked not believing her eyes.

"Hmm?" Remus said lazily, not even opening his eyes.

"Remmy? Is it really you?"

"Of course it's me, love. Who else would it be?" he asked with his eyes still closed.

"Remus, you're awake!" she said excited as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as tight as she could.

"Cassie, love, I need to breathe" he said laughing at his girlfriend but he stopped when he heard her sniff. "Love, what's wrong?" he asked, pulling away a little and noticing her tears.

"Nothing, I just…" she said placing her hand on his cheek. "I was so scared" she admitted, before she hugged him again.

"I'm alright, baby" he said kissing her head repeatedly.

"I missed you" she said burying her head on his chest.

"I was only out for five days" he said, trying to ease her.

"That was too much" she pouted. "How are you feeling?"

"Good" he said but she arched an eyebrow at him. "I look worse than I feel, honestly" he assured her.

"You scared me" she said resting her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry, love" he said kissing her forehead again.

"I'm just glad you're ok" she told him and he smiled.

"Cassie?" he asked looking around and seeing her bag on the floor. "Why weren't you in class?"

"Uh… free period?"

"We don't have free periods today" he said, making her look up at him and noticing how exhausted she was. "Love?"

"I was just a bit tired, is all."

"Please tell me you didn't do my homework while I was in the Hospital Wing" he said. He knew she always did that and overworked herself.

"Alright" she said, not facing him. "I won't tell you."

"Cassie-"

"I didn't want you to fall behind" she argued.

"But still, Cassie-"

"Remmy, I'm too exhausted right now, can't we just go back to sleep?"

"Fine" he said, being too exhausted himself. "But we're talking about this when we wake up, alright?" he didn't get an answer, since he felt her breathing slow down and he knew she was already asleep. "I love you" he whispered kissing her head one more time and hugging her tighter.

"Love you too."

Cassie woke up again a few hours later and smiled when she saw Remus still asleep next to her. She saw two plates filled with food on his nightstand and she assumed it was already dinner time. Not wanting to wake him up, she sneaked out of his arms, grabbed roll of bread, James' cloak and made her way towards the classroom where she'd been earlier that day.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked feeling her heart stop when she saw someone in there, writing on her board.

Regulus turned around to face his sister. "Cassie-"

"Get out!"

"Cassie, let me explain-"

"NO! Just get out-!"

"I know what you're brewing, and I can help you" he said quickly before she could kick him out.

"What?" she asked, making her heart stop.

"I know about Remus" he stated, casually. "And I know you're brewing the Wolfsbane Potion for him. And I can help you."

"I don't know what you're talking about" she said, still trying to get away with it.

"Remus is a werewolf" Regulus said, getting upset.

"How did you know?" Cassie whispered, fearing the worst.

"I'm not stupid. I've seen him disappear every full-moon and he always looks ill the next day" he said rolling his eyes. "But it wasn't today, when I followed you and Sirius, that I confirmed I was right."

"Regulus, please, you can't tell anyone. I know you hate us but Remus has nothing to do with this-"

"I won't tell" he said shrugging his shoulders. "I wouldn't do that to you" he informed her. "Or him. I liked Lupin and he makes you happy."

"But- I thought you hated us" she said confused. Regulus sighed.

"I do" he simply said. "But I owe one to Lupin" he said shrugging his shoulders.

"What? Why?"

"That's between him and me" he stated. "So you're going to have to trust me. I can help you, but I'm doing this for him. I promise I won't say anything, and you won't tell this to Sirius. Do we have a deal?"

Cassie thought about it for a minute. Whether she accepted his help or not, he already knew about Remus. So it was probably best to have a close eye on him.

"Fine. We have a deal."

* * *

A few weeks had passed and things were slowly getting back to normal. Except, Remus knew Cassie was still sneaking off from time to time, brewing that potion she still hadn't told him about. She kept on making any different excuse to stall him from knowing but she was running out of them. She had actually made a remarkable progress with Regulus, which was now another secret she had to keep from everyone. Everything was going fine, until one day, as they walked through the halls, someone else informed him about her plan without really meaning to.

"Mr. Lupin, Miss Black" Professor Dumbledore said happily, greeting the young couple.

"Hello, professor" Cassie replied politely.

"It is wonderful to see you up and well, Mr. Lupin" he told the werewolf.

"Thank you, sir" he said, smiling. "It… was a tough night" he admitted.

"Oh, I am aware" he said. "But I imagine next one won't be so bad" he said. _Oh no._ Cassie thought.

"Well, I can only hope" Remus said hugging Cassie closer to him.

"Well, I am sure it will. Professor Slughorn just informed me about the remarkable advance you've had with your potion. I'm certain you will have it on time for the next full-moon, Miss Black" he said turning to Cassie.

"I'm sorry, what does that have to do with-?"

"Oh, look at the time. I was supposed to meet Professor McGonagall in her class about thirty minutes ago" he said laughing. "Well, I will see you both later, keep up the excellent work, Miss Black" he said waving them off as he walked away. Cassie hoped that Remus would let it go, but of course…

"Cassie what is he talking about?" he asked as soon as Professor Dumbledore was out of sight.

"Uh- I don't know I mean, you know Professor Dumbledore is really old and-"

"Cassie" Remus said in a serious tone. "Don't lie to me" he said making her sigh in defeat. "What potion are you brewing?"

"Um" she said biting her bottom lip nervously. "The uh- the Wolfsbane Potion" she said quietly.

"WHAT?!"

"Remus, I'm really close to get it, I just need to-"

"You're telling me that this _ENTIRE_ time you've been brewing this stupid potion _for me_?"

"Is not stupid! It says it really eases the symptoms for werewolves a-and-"

"Cassie, that is one of the most complex potions to make! It has really dangerous ingredients and you risked your life for this! You knew Snape was after you and you still did this! You've been doing this for months! I've seen the burns and the bruises and you even stopped eating and sleeping for this… this… _bloody potion!_ "

"But Remus, I just wanted to-"

"You're stopping right now" he said upset.

"What? NO! I'm so close to getting it and this could really help you-"

"No! Cassie you went too far this time" he told her. "Cassie, I will be forever grateful for everything that you do for me and for loving me the way that I am, but I will _not_ let you put your life in risk for something like this!"

"But Remus-"

"But nothing! Cassie, please promise me you're done with this potion" he said angrily.

"I can't do that" Cassie said getting equally upset.

"Cassiopeia! This isn't a game! You could get hurt!"

"Well, so far I haven't!"

"So far you've been lucky! Cassie please!"

"No! Remus you have no idea what is like to watch you in so much pain every full moon! It breaks my heart that I can't do anything to make you feel better! If this potion does, even a little bit, it would be worth the few burns and bruises I've gotten from it!"

"I can't believe you're being this stubborn!"

"Me?"

"Yes! And you hid this from me for MONTHS!"

"Only because I knew you would've made me back out form the beginning!"

"You're bloody right, I would've! Cassie, this isn't worth it!"

"Oh, so helping my boyfriend isn't worth it?"

"NOT IF IT PUTS YOU IN DANGER! DON'T YOU GET THAT?!" Remus snapped at her. "All I ever want to do is to keep you safe, Cassiopeia because I love you!" he snapped. "Now, I don't know!"

"You don't know if you love me?" Cassie asked on the verge of tears.

"Of course I love you! I just wished you told me!" Remus snapped before he walked away from her.

He knew that if he stayed there, Cassie would find a way to turn this around and right now he was angry and he needed to be angry. What she didn't know is that he wasn't angry at her. He was angry at him. At everything his girlfriend needed to do to help him. He hated the fact that he had to put her through all this. Cassie deserved so much better and he didn't want her to risk her life because of him. He could never forgive himself if he knew something happened to her because of him.

Cassie stood there, in the middle of the hallway when she felt tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew that when Remus found out about this he would flip out a little, but she didn't expect this.

* * *

"Cassie, did you hear what I just said?" Regulus asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What is going on with you? You've been distracted all afternoon, we're not going to get this if you don't concentrate."

"I'm sorry, is just… Remus knows" she said.

"Knows what?"

"About the potion" she explained.

"He didn't know already?" he asked and she shook her head no. "Why not?"

"Because I knew if I told him, he'd make me stop because is dangerous and he wouldn't want me to go through all this trouble for him but now he knows and he's even angrier and he's not talking to me and I just-" she said starting to freak out but stopped. "Sorry, you don't care about all this" she said silently. "What were you saying?"

"Uh- I was saying that… if we change the order of these two ingredients, maybe it could work" he said. He did care about his sister, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Because he knew, he was going to end up breaking her heart if she found out he was already a Death Eater. It was best to make her stay away.

"Yeah, that could work" she said with a small smile. As Regulus poured the ingredients in the cauldron, Cassie kept on staring at him. She knew something was off about him. She missed him and she wanted her little brother back, but she didn't want to push him further away and risking everything they've done so far. "Reggie-"

"Don't call me Reggie" he said, not looking at her. He didn't want to, because he could feel her broken look on him. And the truth was, it ached him every time she called him that.

"Sorry, uh, Regulus" she corrected. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, why?"

"Well, you just seem… upset" she said.

"Don't worry about it" he said, so she didn't want to push it. "Stir" he instructed.

Cassie did as she was told and soon enough a faint blue smoke came out of the cauldron. Something that hadn't happen, until now. "Oh, Merlin!" she said grinning like an idiot.

"Is that what I think it is?" they turn around to hear Professor Slughorn walking through the class. Cassie was too shocked to even move. "I knew your brother helping you would make you succeed, Miss Black" he said smiling at her.

"You mean that I-" she started. "I mean we-" she said looking at Regulus. "You-"

"No, Cassie" Regulus said smiling. " _You_ just made the Wolfsbane Potion" he informed her. Cassie was so excited, she didn't care, she threw herself at her little brother and happily wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you, Reggie" she said with a few tears escaping her eyes. Regulus couldn't remember being this content in so long. So he just let himself go in the moment, wrapping his arms around her sister and kissing the side of her head.

"Any time, sis!"

* * *

 **A/N: there we goooo... drama, drama, dramaaaa... so we have only a couple of chapters left :( depending on how long the next chapter is, the following will be new or just an epilougue :) I promise I won't take as long to post the next chapters! sorry, again for the delay and thanks so much again, for reading :) and please let me know what you think :)**

 **Mischief Managed!**


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